


Love Me or Leave Me

by AAvery



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Arranged Marriage, Eren is kinda depressed, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Slow Burn, Soulmates, mentions of male pregnancy, rough start
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:35:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 42,258
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28401009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AAvery/pseuds/AAvery
Summary: It was to be a grand affair; though, Eren could’ve told you that even before the wedding was scheduled. From one of the most prestigious families in the area, it was to be expected. Eren just hadn’t expected that it would also be his wedding that was so extravagant. The Ackerman family’s only son: an alpha practically a decade older than Eren at thirty-two and CEO to his late uncle’s company, a young princeling if Eren had ever seen one, would be his husband in just under an hour.Eren had never even met the man, let alone seen him. Well, not in person anyway. He’d seen pictures online and on TV, even watched him give a few speeches about his business on the news, and of course, he’d read countless magazine articles speculating what kind of person he was, but none of that was exactly the same thing and it certainly didn’t make Eren feel any better about marrying the man. The very first time he would be face to face with his new husband would be after he walked down the aisle to stand with him at the altar.
Relationships: Armin Arlert/Erwin Smith, Levi/Eren Yeager, Marco Bott/Jean Kirstein, Mikasa Ackerman/Annie Leonhart, Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover, Sasha Blouse/Connie Springer, other relationships mentioned
Comments: 69
Kudos: 373
Collections: Levi x Eren





	1. For Better or For Worse

It was to be a grand affair; though, Eren could’ve told you that even before the wedding was scheduled. From one of the most prestigious families in the area, it was to be expected. Eren just hadn’t expected that it would also be _his_ wedding that was so extravagant. The Ackerman family’s only son: an alpha practically a decade older than Eren at thirty-two and CEO to his late uncle’s company, a young princeling if Eren had ever seen one, would be his husband in just under an hour.

Eren had never even met the man, let alone seen him. Well, not in person anyway. He’d seen pictures online and on TV, even watched him give a few speeches about his business on the news, and of course, he’d read countless magazine articles speculating what kind of person he was, but none of that was exactly the same thing and it certainly didn’t make Eren feel any better about marrying the man. The very first time he would be face to face with his new husband would be after he walked down the aisle to stand with him at the altar. He wasn’t sure if meeting the man before the ceremony would have made him feel any better about the situation, but it at least should’ve been a curtesy that was extended to him in this day and age.

He looked from his reflection in the mirror in front of him to his left hand. An engagement ring sparkled on his ring finger: his first gift from Levi Ackerman. Apparently, or at least according to what the Ackerman’s lawyer had said, it was especially picked out for Eren by the young master, himself. Eren found that a little hard to believe, though. If the man couldn’t even find the time to see his fiancé before their wedding, he doubted he had time to go browsing engagement rings. But nonetheless, the ring really was beautiful. A silver band with a diamond as its main stone and two smaller cut emeralds on either side. Green suited Eren well, or so all his new stylists told him, and he’d consider it among his favorite colors. Whoever had actually picked the ring for him knew what they were doing.

He looked back up to the mirror, almost not recognizing the person he saw there. He’d gone through quite the transformation in becoming ‘presentable’ to the public for his debut into this new world.

When the Ackerman’s family lawyer had shown up at their doorstep one late afternoon in September, none of his family members had expected a marriage proposal. Eren’s first thought when he opened the door to the well-dressed, stone-faced beta was that his father had finally pissed the wrong people off. But then, the man had smiled brightly and introduced himself upon seeing him. His mother came to the door next, scolding Eren for his lack of manners and allowing the man in with an offer of something to drink.

His mother, like him, was an omega but, unlike him, was always the dutiful housewife and the perfect picture of how an omega should act in society. Eren had never quite figured out how to fit into his social role. He had never been expected to before his marriage proposal and it had never really been a problem until then. With the help of his father’s medicines, no one outside of his friends and family could tell he was an omega without being outright told. So as far as the general populace was concerned, Eren fit his social role just fine. Now, however, he’d be expected to be the picture-perfect omega for his husband. Arranged marriages weren’t exactly unheard of in the society they lived in, but they had mainly been a tradition held amongst the royal family and other such elites, like the Ackermans. Eren had never expected himself to be the victim of one. He was a full-blown adult and his parents had never been the type to enforce strict etiquette on him so he had always assumed he would get the choice of who to bond with for the rest of his life too.

Obviously, that just wasn’t the case anymore.

The lawyer had sat down with his mom and dad for an hour and a half. Eren wasn’t allowed into the room for the first half of the conversation, but not for lack of trying. Same went for his sister, Mikasa, and his brother, Zeke. All the siblings knew that the lawyer’s business was about Eren in some way since the lawyer had even said so himself before they all had been kicked out of the room and since then all of them were desperate to find out the reasoning. His siblings had always been protective of him, both of them being alphas and all that. Eren was technically the youngest child—Zeke was a few years older than him and Mikasa would always hold it over him that she was a few months older having been adopted by the Jaeger family at a young age—and he was an omega on top of that; it was second nature for the both of them to dot on and protect him even if all of them weren’t fully biologically related. But despite their best efforts, neither of them got into the room to hear what was being discussed.

They settled on listening through an upstairs vent that connected to the dining room where the meeting was being held. If someone held their ear up against it, whatever was going on in the dining room could be heard from the hallway and then relayed to the other curious siblings.

Eren’s parents and the lawyer started by discussing his father’s business. He was a rather successful up-and-coming entrepreneur dealing in suppressants and other pharmaceuticals to make both alpha’s and omega’s lives easier. He’d recently had a breakthrough at his singular, small laboratory for a new medicine that could make suppressants less harmful to those taking them. Though he wasn’t nearly as successful as the Ackerman family, he obviously had done well enough with what he had. Well enough even to warrant the Ackerman’s wanting what he had.

They were striking up a deal to go about merging their two businesses. There were huge benefits for his father’s small startup to combine with the Ackerman’s and from the moment the lawyer even suggested such a thing, Eren’s father was doing everything in his power to make it happen. It would greatly increase their living situation. They could finally move to a bigger house, get Eren’s mother the huge kitchen she’d always wanted, get him and his siblings their own bedrooms for once, and get his father the peace of mind that his family was well supported. Eren could go to art school and study music like he’d always wanted but never had the money to do. It would be a wonderful step up.

But the Ackermans didn’t need much convincing. In actuality, the lawyer was using the merger to convince Eren’s father to agree to something else entirely: a marriage of a viable omega to the Ackerman’s only heir and brand-new CEO to the pharmaceutical company.

Eren’s siblings immediately knew what this meant; an uneasy feeling settled in Eren’s stomach. The Ackerman’s current heir was an alpha, Eren’s siblings were both alphas… Eren was the only available omega in the household. Though the lawyer skirted around the whole subject, Eren was able to piece together that Mr. Ackerman had numerous possible suitors but Eren had been handpicked by the man himself. He wasn’t sure he entirely believed that; it was most definitely just a tactic to make the deal sound like it was a limited time offer but it worked wonders on his family. The lawyer even mentioned that Eren’s father would be able to stay on as a lead researcher as a sign of “good faith” towards the Jaeger family for having taken care of their long-lost and distant cousin Mikasa for so long.

His siblings instantly erupted into a series of very angry and almost incoherent ramblings at this new development. There were so many rumors surrounding the man that had taken over his uncle’s company a few years ago at the age of twenty-eight after the man had passed away. He had never been seen dating anyone in public so all the gossip outlets pegged him as someone who would never settle down, a playboy till the very end. He had easily risen to the challenge that was running a whole company at such a young age, so he was deemed power-hungry and merciless, completely cruel. He had never agreed to an interview with various magazines or media, so he was said to be aloof and uncaring, an ice-king with an unthaw-able heart. None of this boded well for Eren’s marriage to the man. Mikasa, though she did admit that the man was handsome at the least, was infuriated by the match and both Eren and Zeke had to hold her back from storming through the door and demanding the lawyer leave the house immediately. Zeke was much calmer about the whole matter but clearly didn’t like what was happening either. Eren really didn’t have much to say to calm either of them down, so he stayed quiet; too shocked to come up with his usual confidence and bravado. He was equally as upset by all this as they were, after all.

He was called into the dining room after the deal had been finalized. The lawyer looked Eren up and down and all around. He was poked and prodded while his mother grabbed his medical records for those to be analyzed as well. He felt a little degraded; like livestock being inspected for competition.

He was taller than the average omega, broader as well. He had a nice face, sharp but delicate features. His hair was well taken care of, if not a little long, but utterly boring in the way it was styled. His skin wasn’t as flawless as they’d like to see but there were products for that. He was skinny but had grown into his features over the years, so he wasn’t lanky. His medical records showed that he was, in fact, an omega in every biological definition of the word. He was fertile and well taken care of in that aspect of his health as well. Thanks to his father’s medications, he was on a line of suppressants so he hadn’t had to suffer through a heat in almost five years but that was easily reversible. He was also on scent inhibitors so that the average person couldn’t tell he was an omega by his smell alone; again, curtesy of his father’s well-made medicines so that he might live free of such prejudice.

When he was deemed ‘worthy’ enough by the lawyer, the man pulled out a tiny, velvet box. Opening it revealed the engagement ring Eren wore now. His mother had gasped at it and immediately cooed over Eren and the ring. It really was beautiful; if Eren had received it from someone he loved dearly he would’ve been overjoyed by the sight. Instead, it made him feel a little sick to his stomach with a mixture of frustration and anxiety.

He was told after the ring had been fitted on his finger that the wedding would be held in early October, only a few weeks away. He was also instructed to stop taking his suppressants and scent-blockers during the weeks leading up to the wedding since he’d soon be bonded with an alpha and such inhibitors would only complicate things. There would be a group of stylists coming in to make him ‘presentable to the public’ and wedding coordinators would come by to talk about the ceremony and sequential events so all involved members knew exactly what was going on. During the marriage itself, if he could provide an heir that would be preferable but not a deal breaker. He wouldn’t have to worry about any sort of termination of their marriage if he was unable to conceive. Male pregnancies for omegas were rare, definitely nowhere near impossible but nothing could be done if luck just wasn’t on their side. The purpose of this union wasn’t to produce children anyway; Eren held himself back from asking what that purpose actually was then, deciding he didn’t want to know if it was only going to make him feel even more hopeless than before. He’d be expected to attend events and public sightings with the young master and to be the ‘dutiful husband’ in every aspect of the term just like any other omega being married off was expected to do.

Then came the list of benefits; as if Eren had to be convinced to agree to these terms, as if he wasn’t being forced into an arranged marriage.

He wouldn’t have to work. He’d have complete access to and freedom with the Ackerman’s finances. He’d live at the Ackerman estate and have numerous employees tending to his needs on call. He’d have free reign over the house and could come and go as he pleased. He could stay in touch with his friends and family but obviously any sort of lover would be forbidden but Eren had never been with anyone before so that wasn’t a problem. His stuff would be collected for him and moved into a room just for himself at the estate.

Any person—omega, beta, or alpha—could be happy with that arrangement. But Eren wasn’t exactly pleased with it. He always thought that when he got married, became bonded with an alpha—if it ever happened at all—that it would be with someone he really loved and cared about. Maybe with a long-standing friend like his friend Marco had done with his husband Jean. Or with someone he met and instantly felt a sort of connection with, in a way that seemed destined like Mikasa had done over the summer with her current girlfriend, Annie.

But instead, here he was, standing in front of a tall mirror, looking at his reflection, about to marry a man he had never met before. He felt like crying. Instead of anger or frustration—those had faded after thinking on the situation for a couple days—he felt hopelessly sad. He could only hope that his soon-to-be husband was a kind man and not the awful person all the celebrity news outlets liked to claim he was.

“Eren! You look so handsome!!” His mother cooed upon entering the room. She was dressed elegantly and looked positively stunning. Eren hadn’t seen her this happy in a while, with a wide grin on her face and exuding positive pheromones. Eren felt comforted by his mother’s scent and easily fell into the hug she offered. In his mother’s familiar presence, he was reminded of why he was going through with all this in the first place. Marrying Levi Ackerman would mean so much to his family. Even if it meant he had to suffer, he would do this to continue seeing his mother so happy.

“Not nearly as gorgeous as you,” Eren said back, remembering the etiquette sessions his mother had put him through the weeks leading up to this moment.

“Oh stop, this is your night not mine,” his mother said, straightening his tie just a bit and messing with a couple strands of hair that weren’t quite long enough to be tied back with the rest of it in a intricate knot Eren would never be able to duplicate on his own. Her smile faded a bit, her face taking on a solemn expression when she saw the sad expression on her son’s face. “I know this isn’t exactly ideal. I wish we didn’t have to put you through this.”

“It’s okay,” Eren immediately said, stopping his mother’s train of thought. It was too late to change anything now and he didn’t want to worry his mother any more than necessary. “I understand what I have to do.”

“You’ve always been so wonderful, Eren,” she said, smiling fondly up at him. She grabbed his cheek as she cooed. “So cuuuute, I’m sure he’ll adore you just as much as everyone who meets you does.”

Eren faked a smile, pushing her hand away teasingly. He nodded in response to her words, not knowing what to say. A lot of sarcastic and self-deprecating comments came to mind, but he didn’t think any of that would go over well with his mother, so he kept them to himself.

Eren had always been a rather strange omega. He was taller than average with broad shoulders, yet very skinny no matter how much he ate. He tried to work out if he could, but his physique was nothing to write home about in his own opinion. He wasn’t particularly cute—despite what his mom said, she was biased anyway—or pretty, or handsome. Everyone he met was always surprised whenever they found out that he wasn’t an alpha with the proud and confident way he always carried himself, and the reckless tendencies he’d had throughout his teenage years. He was rather shy in first meetings, but not in a cute omega way; people always thought he was too blunt, never knowing the right thing to say and messing up his words the entire way through whatever conversation he was having. It was a wonder he had any friends at all, really. How anyone could want to be with him was lost on him. He was fine with that fact, honestly, he was. He’d rather be alone than with someone who didn’t love him for him or tried to force him to be something he wasn’t, but now he didn’t even have that choice. This Levi would take one look at him and immediately regret what he had agreed to. Even if his lawyer had said Eren was an acceptable mate, Eren doubted Levi would have the same thoughts.

There was a reason, after all, a troop of stylists had been sent in to make him look ‘acceptable for public viewing’ as the lawyer had put it. They had cut his long, brown hair into something more stylish and ‘pretty’ as the lead stylist had cooed, the ends of his hair just barely touching his shoulders. His skin had been put through an array of acne treatments, so he now had practically flawless skin even without all the touch-up makeup that had been put on him for tonight. He received an all-new wardrobe, so he always looked the part and was taught how to style his own hair and care for his own skin to keep up the proper appearances.

The outfit he wore now was worth more money than every previous article of clothing he’d owned before all this combined: a tailored suit that fit him in all the right ways that he had to model for hours a week ago while it was hemmed to his exact measurements. He was told it accentuated his long legs and curved waist well and the dark green color made his eyes pop more. He wasn’t sure if those were good things, but everyone kept saying them, so he didn’t worry about it too much.

“Now, me, Mikasa and Zeke will be in the front row, so you won’t be alone. I scoped out the reception hall already and there doesn’t seem to be too many cameras. I’ve heard Mr. Ackerman really cracked down on just who would be able to attend this event so I wouldn’t worry about the press too much. Your father will walk you down the aisle to give you to Mr. Ackerman; he’s waiting for you outside the hall,” his mother said, trying to comfort him in any way that she could. His nerves were probably easy to pick up on in his scent; especially now that he hadn’t been taking his usual medications for two weeks and he’d been cooped up in this room all day. “Everyone feels nervous on their wedding day.”

Eren thought about that for a second before asking:

“Had you… met dad before marrying him?”

His mother looked said once more, easily able to tell why Eren was asking. She didn’t even answer the question, jumping right into an attempt to comfort him instead.

“I’m sure the only reason he didn’t visit was because he was very busy setting up the wedding and adjusting to his new position in the family,” she tried.

Eren nodded again; words were alluding him tonight. He chalked it up to his nerves. He wanted to believe her, but something stopped him just short of that much to his chagrin.

“I’m sure you’ll be happy,” his mother said, running a hand comfortingly down his arm.

It was in that moment a coordinator came into the room, talking through her earpiece for a second before turning to Eren and his mother.

“We’re ready when you are,” she said, wrinkling her nose slightly at the smell of two omegas in the room. It probably didn’t help that Eren was nervous beyond comprehension, souring his scent just enough to be slightly irritating. He had been in this room all day; his scent probably filled the entire thing by now with how nervous he really was.

“Are you ready?” His mother asked.

“As I’ll ever be.” Which really wasn’t saying much…

But his mother only smiled up at him once more, beckoning for him to lean down so she could place a kiss on his forehead.

He was led through a series of hallways to an exit of the building that led to an open-air patio. From what he could see, it was lavishly decorated with white and gold colors.

He found his father waiting in the precession line all the way at the end as was normal for a wedding; the bride was always the last one in and for all intents and purposes. Eren was the bride in this situation. His father didn’t say anything to him as he joined him in line, only smiled and patted his arm once it was interlocked with his. Not a second later, they were getting the signal to start. Soft music started playing and the area outside went quiet as the line started walking out.

For most of the walk, Eren kept his eyes trained on the ground, avoiding any sort of eye contact for fear of having a mental breakdown during his own wedding. He was only going to get one of these and he really didn’t want to screw it up. When they got closer to the front of the reception hall, Eren looked up, searching for his mother and siblings. They all smiled at him when he found them in the front row, right where his mother had said they would be. His brother didn’t look very happy with the situation happening in front of him and Mikasa _really_ didn’t look happy but they both nodded towards him in comfort anyway. His mother was all smiles and waves, looking so very proud of him. He couldn’t disappoint them… Even as an unorthodox omega, he still felt the ever present need to please those around him. So, taking a deep breath, he looked to where he was going in a moment of bravery.

They were several stories high in the air so the view from the edge of the patio was gorgeous. The city skyline was in perfect view. The sun was just beginning to set, giving everything a wonderful golden hue. He caught the flash of a couple cameras out of the corner of his eye as he walked but didn’t turn around to look. Instead, he turned his attention to the altar itself. Standing across from the spot where Eren would be soon, was a rather handsome man, if surprisingly shorter than Eren was expecting. He was dressed similarly to Eren as well in a suit identical to his own, accentuating broad shoulders and a narrow waist; only his was a deep blue instead of green. When his eyes found Eren’s, Eren practically held his breath. This would be the moment where his fiancé would find out just how much of a disappointment the man he was to marry actually was. But instead of the disappointment Eren anticipated, the man’s expression changed hardly at all, calculating grey eyes watching him very closely. Eren couldn’t get a read on him at all, but he didn’t think there was any malice in that gaze. If he looked closely, he could fool himself into thinking the man might have even smiled at him, ever so slightly and hardly noticeable at all.

Eren allowed himself to breathe properly again, his nerves dying ever so slightly with the maybe smile he had seen. His husband to be really was handsome, in a sharp and almost dangerous kind of way. All his features were just as sharp as those grey eyes watching Eren like a hawk. His black hair was styled in a fashionable undercut, not a strand out of place with his bangs just barely falling into his eyes. Eren had known for a long time that, if he ever found someone, he’d prefer to be with another man so at least he’d get that out of this marriage.

When he reached the altar, Eren moved to stand across from the man; his father left his side to go sit with the rest of his family. The soft music died and then the ceremony itself began.

Levi placed his hands out in front of him between the two of them, open palms facing upwards. Eren gingerly placed his hands in Levi’s, the difference in their heights becoming painfully clear now standing so close to each other. Levi’s head came just up to Eren’s nose and his hands were smaller than Eren’s, cold and slender to contrast with Eren’s large, warm ones. How could he possibly have been the ‘perfect choice’ for the man standing across from him. He pushed these thoughts out of his head, trying his best to pay attention to the words being said by the officiate. They repeated the vows given to them to each other. His husband’s voice was deeper than he had been expecting, smooth and surprisingly comforting as he spoke. Eren was able to pick up on the man’s nervousness in his scent despite his indifferent appearance the longer he stood next to him; it made Eren feel better to know he wasn’t the only one. The reasons why Levi was nervous were lost on Eren but nonetheless it still made him feel better. However slight.

At the end of the speech the officiate gave about marriage and undying loyalty, Eren and Levi were both given a plain, silver wedding ring. Levi carefully took Eren’s left hand and slipped the silver band onto his ring finger, right above the engagement ring he still wore. His expression was blank or at least almost blank; Eren had convinced himself that the man was definitely smiling slightly. He tried his best to return the smile, but he feared it barely showed on his face in his anxiety; maybe that was the same issue his husband-to-be was having. Carefully and with shaky fingers, Eren slipped a matching silver ring onto Levi’s ring finger as well. If Levi was bothered by Eren’s clear nerves, he didn’t show it. Instead, he took a step closer to Eren, placing one hand on Eren’s waist and the other tentatively on his cheek. Eren instinctively followed his lead, a hand on Levi’s waist and the other on his shoulder as he leaned down in order to better reach the man. Then Levi kissed him, chaste and careful, nothing more than a press of their lips.

The wedding guests all erupted into cheers and applause as the kiss signaled the end of the ceremony. Eren was overcome with emotions. He could smell Levi very clearly now with how close they were. A pleasant scent with hints of nervousness and something else that Eren hadn’t encountered before and therefore couldn’t place. Levi, despite his cold hands, felt warm next to him; a strong and sturdy presence despite his stature, someone he felt he could depend on to take care of him. Eren really hoped the public demeanor he saw before him now would be similar to his private one. If that were the case, maybe their marriage wouldn’t be as terrible as Eren had been expecting.

His new husband gave him an actual smile, small and quiet, and a promise as they pulled away from each other:

“I’ll follow after you in just a moment.”

Eren nodded before he was almost immediately whisked away by some more coordinators and ushered into a sleek black car waiting outside the entrance to the recreational building after a short trip down an elevator and avoiding what felt like thousands of cameras out on the street. The other wedding guests would carry on with the after party within the building, but he and Levi had other matters to attend to before the night was over. He hoped everyone enjoyed themselves while he sat alone in the back seat of a rather expensive looking car. The long ride to the Ackerman estate in the outskirts of the city was uncomfortably quiet. He thought that maybe someone would be riding with him on his journey to tell him what would be happening next but there was no one. Well, no one besides the driver, who sat behind a partition between the front and back seat of the car. The small window was closed at the moment and he doubted that even if he opened it the driver would be able to provide much insight to the situation, so he didn’t even bother.

His nerves were on fire. He didn’t really need someone to tell him what was expected of him next on this night, but he thought that maybe hearing someone say it aloud would make him feel better. As far as the law was concerned, Levi and Eren were legally bound together. Society and biology, on the other hand, required a bit more than just a ceremony for alphas and omegas to be bonded officially. And if Eren was expected to make public appearances with his new husband, they’d be expected to follow such social norms to avoid nasty rumors.

Eren wasn’t sure if he was ready to be bonded for life with an alpha. He was only twenty-two-years-old for god’s sake; he shouldn’t have been expected to make this commitment so early in his life. Sure, he didn’t have any options for himself otherwise and if he waited _too_ long, he wouldn’t be able to have children anymore—and he definitely wanted children—but he still had dreams. He hadn’t been pleased when he presented as an omega on his fifteenth birthday. He hated that the general populace automatically assumed he’d be weak and obedient simply because he was an omega. The whole reason his father started working specifically with pharmaceuticals in the first place was so that Eren would have a chance at a normal life and wasn’t tied down by societal expectations. But even that didn’t change the fact that he was still an omega. He’d accepted it after a while; he couldn’t change his genes and there was nothing he could do about it. Plus, the medications his father had come up with over the years certainly helped him deal with all the hassle that being an omega brought him.

He’d always been a bit of a hopeless romantic and as such, often fantasized about what it would be like to have the perfect partner since he was a little kid. His mother had filled his head with ideas of a soulmate, and he had always dreamed of finding that perfect someone. So, when he presented as an omega and accepted his fate, the fantasies just shifted a little. He dreamed of a partner that would love and care for him as he was, who didn’t care that he wasn’t the typical omega, never expected him to behave in such a way, and actually adored that aspect of him. He wasn’t stupid, though. He knew that was a lot to ask for in a partner and he was willing to let go of a few standards if the right person came along.

But now, he didn’t even have a say in who his life-partner was. Levi seemed like such a cold-hearted and merciless businessman on TV but acted at least a little kind at the ceremony, but even that sliver of potential kindness wasn’t enough to make Eren feel any better. In the days leading up to the event, he hadn’t once bothered to take the time to see him. That one, singular fact was what worried Eren the most. How different was the man’s public attitude compared to his private one? Was there even a chance the man wasn’t as aloof and cold-hearted as he was always depicted to be? Eren really wasn’t interested in that answer but again, he really didn’t have a say in the matter. One way or another, tonight he’d find out exactly what kind of man Levi Ackerman really was.

He suddenly felt like crying all over again. This whole situation wasn’t fair. Why did he have to be born like this? Why did Levi Ackerman pick him? Surely there were other companies that offered just as many benefits to merge with other than Eren’s father’s. Surely there was someone else the man wanted to marry.

His thoughts were interrupted as the car came to a stop and the door opened. He quickly wiped his eyes to make sure his current mental state wasn’t on full display. He didn’t think crying on his wedding night would make a good first impression on the staff of the household. A small company of people were waiting for him as he got out of the car. He recognized the nice ladies who had been working as his stylists for the last two weeks as he returned their bows and greetings. Then a man stepped forward, introducing himself as the butler of the household before asking Eren to follow him into the large, stately home.

“As you can see, the Ackerman’s estate is a very large manor,” he said, beginning to walk up the front steps of the house. “You may explore and roam freely but do be careful not to get lost and to not make too large a mess. The master of the house is very particular about cleanliness. Oh, and perhaps it may be best to mention now to take great care with some pieces of décor around the house. Some of them are rather priceless artifacts.”

Eren made a mental note not to touch anything that looked even remotely expensive for fear of accidentally breaking something important. If he had to live here, he didn’t want to make the staff dislike him or inconvenience his husband more than he already had.

“Master Levi will be around shortly as I’m sure he told you. Dealing with the press is a nasty matter, but he shouldn’t be long. Until then, these ladies will help you clean up and prepare you for…” The man cleared his throat, seemingly a little uncomfortable with the words he was going to say before correcting himself. “Your wedding night.”

A pang of nerves went through his stomach; Eren felt like throwing up again. When he didn’t say anything in response, the butler continued on with his introduction speech.

“The young master is a kind man,” he said, probably sensing Eren’s sudden bombardment of nerves. “He hopes to live a good life with you by his side.”

Eren couldn’t tell if that was something the aging man was saying to make him feel better or if Levi had actually expressed such thoughts to him before the wedding.

“You must understand, he’s a very busy man nowadays,” he continued as they came upon the front steps of the house. The other employees of the household opened the doors for them as they walked through, exposing the beautifully decorated interior. “He may come off as a bit cold and disinterested, but he holds those close to him very dearly, as I’m sure you’ll discover.”

“Have you known him long?” Eren asked. The man let out a small chuckle.

“Not very, he only recently began living here on the property himself after ordering numerous renovations to be carried out around the house. But it has been enough time for me to see what kind of a person he is. Do give him a chance, he always means well whether he outwardly tells you his intentions or not. Sometimes what he doesn’t say is just as important as what he does.”

Eren nodded, unsure of what to really do with this cryptic information. The butler did seem very kind so Eren didn’t think the man was lying to him. But he could also have just said all that stuff in an effort to try and comfort him before Levi showed up. Whether or not any of it was true was irrelevant since it didn’t make him feel better in the slightest anyway. He was still married to a man he didn’t know, about to give himself forever to a complete stranger. Practically nothing could make him feel better at this point.

“All your belongings have been moved and unpacked already so you needn’t worry about any of that,” the man continued as he led everyone through the foyer and up a couple sets of stairs to a large bedroom that Eren could only assume was the master suite of the whole household with how extravagant it really was.

A large, four-poster bed was pushed against the back wall with nightstands on either side. There was a number of expensive looking furniture decorating the room that included a small seating area in front of a large fireplace. A set of tall, floor to ceiling windows covered the wall opposite the main doorway with a French door out to a decently sized balcony overlooking the backyard’s gardens. A couple smaller doors were located around the room that Eren assumed probably led to walk-in closets and a bathroom.

The butler excused himself then, leaving Eren in the capable hands of the group of stylists that had been working with him for the past few weeks. The head stylist, a pretty girl who was probably a beta by the way she smelled, smiled kindly at him.

“The bathroom is through that door,” she instructed, pointing to the door she mentioned. “We left all the necessary products out for you there; you just need to use them to clean up a bit. We’ll leave out clothes for you and be gone by the time you’ve finished. I’m sure Mr. Ackerman will have arrived by then.”

“Thank you for everything,” Eren said, returning the bow they gave him before he slowly made his way over to the door the lady had pointed out.

The bathroom was almost just as grand as the bedroom had been. It was spacious and very modern despite how old this house must have actually been. Must’ve been the renovations the butler had mentioned during their walk here. Instead of a normal bathtub, there was a large, circular pool raised slightly off the floor. It was more like a small swimming pool than an actual bathtub with its size. There was a large vanity against one wall with two sinks inlaid in it. Eren saw that all the skin and hair care products that had been given to him were carefully placed around one of the sinks. He made another mental note to go searching for where exactly all his belongings had been put away around the room after everything was finalized. Across the last remaining wall was a large glass door, separating the rest of the room from a luxurious shower. The shampoos and soaps the stylist had mentioned were placed around the bathtub though, so he turned on the water, waiting a surprisingly short amount of time for the large pool to fill. He undressed himself, taking great care to place the expensive material where it would not get ruined. It made him nervous to no end to be wearing such expensive clothing, and now his whole wardrobe was of the sort. Guess this new way of living was going to take a whole lot of getting used to.

He got into the tub when he was fully undressed and cleaned himself quickly, using the various scent enhancing products that had been set aside for him, as he had been instructed. He felt strange sitting in such a large pool of water by himself, but he pushed such thoughts away since the thought of sharing his bath with someone else made him feel even more uncomfortable. Especially since the only person he could possibly share a bath with now was a complete stranger to him: his husband.

A wave of frustration came over him again, but he tried to push that as far out of his mind as possible as well. No matter what happened tonight, he couldn’t change any of it anymore. He was married now; for better or for worse, the silver ring on his left hand proved it. He’d just have to get used to that fact for his family. He had to remember his family; the whole reason he was doing this. Seeing his mother smile, his father worry-free, and his siblings comfortable.

He got out of the warm, bubbly water, making sure to pull the plug so the tub would drain as he did so. Drying himself off with a fluffy towel, he tried to calm his raging nerves so he wouldn’t sour his scent once more. Unlike his anger and frustration, nothing he could tell himself seemed to quell his nerves. He just couldn’t believe he was going through with this. Something he had wished for a long time was between him and someone he loved. Instead, here he was about to do it with someone he had only known for less than a few moments.

When he exited the bathroom, he found himself alone in the large bedroom as the stylists had promised. There was a green, silk robe with colorful flower patterns at the bottom laid out neatly on the very end of the bed and nothing else. Eren didn’t think there was much time for him to search for something else to wear and he didn’t want to anger his husband, so he got dressed in what was placed out for him. He sat down on the very fluffy bed when he was finished, waiting as patiently as he could for his husband to arrive.

It took only ten more minutes before the door was sliding open once more and the man joined him in the room. Eren quickly stood up to greet him as he slowly, almost hesitantly, walked into the room and shut the door behind himself. He had shed his suit jacket as well as his tie and vest in his journey from the venue to his house, so he stood in front of Eren in only tight-fitting dress pants and a white dress shirt that had the first few buttons undone. He looked at Eren with a guarded expression, taking a deep breath and sighing shakily as he caught a bit of Eren’s scent. Eren wished he knew what he smelled like right in this moment just to know what Levi might be thinking of him. Hopefully, his nerves hadn’t messed everything up.

“I uh…” Levi started, clearing his throat. “I’m sorry it took so long for me to get here. I had to deal with the journalists that attended the wedding.”

Eren nodded in understanding. Levi came closer to him so that they were directly in front of each other. A tender hand came up to brush a few strands of freshly washed hair out of Eren’s eyes. He took a deep breath through his nose, catching hints of Levi’s own nervousness but more overwhelmingly the notes of desire. He looked at the man, feeling a little frightened on top of everything else.

“I know what’s expected of us tonight,” Levi started, his voice barely above a whisper as he did his best to keep himself in line. His pupils were blown wide, his lips parted slightly so that he could avoid breathing through his nose and continue to smell Eren’s intoxicating scent. “But…”

Levi swallowed thickly, placing his hands gently on Eren: one on his cheek and one on his waist like he had at the ceremony despite his obvious want to do more. Eren resisted the urge to instinctively lean into his cool touch to avoid making Levi’s struggle to resist losing control even harder.

“But I’m not going to do anything that you don’t want…” he finished, leaning up to press a soft kiss to the tip of Eren’s nose; a gesture of affection usually shared exclusively between bonded couples in love. Eren didn’t know how to respond to all this. Levi clearly wanted to take him, claim him as was expected of an alpha and omega newly wed, yet here he was saying he wouldn’t do anything and had schooled his reactions expertly. He must’ve had the world’s greatest self-control since Eren had never met an alpha so disciplined before.

“Good night, Eren,” Levi whispered before moving away from him. He left the room then, leaving Eren in his new bedroom on his wedding night completely alone.


	2. Silence is an Answer Too

Eren’s life as a married man, fortunately or unfortunately he wasn’t sure, was a lot like his life as an unmarried man. Well, as long as he ignored the growing loneliness and the significant change in his social status.

His days over the next few weeks after his very extravagant wedding and even more confusing wedding night were spent practically the same way. Eren quickly found out his husband worked an exceptional amount of time, so he was left to his own devices in the man’s monstrosity of a house practically every waking moment of the day.

He’d wake up alone in a bed made for two in a room he doubted would ever feel like his own. He’d spend probably entirely too much time picking out something to wear from his vast wardrobe. Every time he walked into his closet—which was about the same size as his old bedroom at his parent’s house—he was overwhelmed by the number of choices laid out before him. There wasn’t a real reason as to why he put so much effort into composing an outfit that suited him well day to day. His husband probably wouldn’t notice and hardly anyone saw him outside the house anyway. He had always rather liked dressing nicely and keeping with fashion trends, but he hadn’t had the money to pursue such an expensive interest before. So now… if it was all just there anyway… he might as well indulge himself a bit. He couldn’t let all those wonderful sweaters hanging neatly in his closet just go unused. That had to be a crime of some sort. And even if it wasn’t, it certainly felt like one in Eren’s mind.

Once the endeavor that was getting dressed was finished, Eren would head to his large bathroom. He’d follow the strict skin care regiment that his wonderful stylists had set for him out of habit more than a real want to do it, and then he’d pull his hair together in a way that at least made it look like he tried. Back home, he would always just tie it up messily or clip it all back in a twist, feeling too annoyed to do anything else besides the bare minimum but he felt he should try a bit harder now that he no longer lived at home. Again, there wasn’t much of a reason for why he bothered though. Of course, he liked looking nice, but sometimes he wondered if his efforts were wasted if hardly anyone was going to see him anyway. Though he didn’t want to admit it to himself, he knew a small part of him wanted to look decent in case his husband decided to actually pay attention to him. Compared to the deadly sharp handsomeness that Levi gave off, Eren really wasn’t much to look at. It was a lot less lonely, though, to just keep telling himself he dressed and looked nice because he wanted to. Plus, he always felt way more confident and self-assured when he looked the brand-new billionaire he now was. It was always a bit strange to think about how his net worth went from about two dollars to literally billions just by getting married.

When he deemed his appearance acceptable, he’d then venture through never ending hallways and a few flights of stairs to get to the dining room. By the time he reached the large room every morning, breakfast would always be sitting out and waiting for him, hot and delicious every time. Eren hadn’t gone into the kitchen himself yet, but he could only imagine it was just as over the top and expensive as the rest of the place with the very wide variety of food he received for his daily meals. Whenever he thought about the way he was living for too long, he’d always feel wholly uncomfortable. Like he didn’t belong in a place like this in the least bit. And if it wasn’t for his marriage, he definitely never would’ve seen the interior of a manor as costly as this in his lifetime, so it wasn’t too much of a stretch to actually say he _didn’t_ belong in a place like this.

The feeling certainly wasn’t helped by the fact he ate his meals alone in a large room, seated at a table made for twelve. He wasn’t lonely per se, but he wouldn’t have minded some company now and again. He really didn’t think that was too much to ask for, especially considering he had a spouse. But even the various employees that worked around the house made themselves scarce whenever Eren was out and about. He figured it was probably part of their job to not be seen while they went about keeping up the house but Eren really wasn’t looking for much. A friendly word or two, some acknowledgment that he was in fact a person and not some neglected pet. But no, he couldn’t find anyone; even the butler seemed to allude him at any given moment.

Though sometimes he considered it a blessing in disguise that he never found some of the various maids and other hands. He couldn’t stand the silent judgement, the hushed whispers that he could still clearly hear. The very first morning he woke up in his new house, a maid had come into his room to change his bed sheets. Or she would’ve if he and Levi had actually consummated their marriage. Eren stood at the edge of the bed, hardly having slept at all throughout the night, watching blankly as the woman pulled back the bed sheets he had occupied not a moment before. She halted her movements upon seeing the pristine condition the blankets were still in; no blood, no semen, none of the usual mess that would be expected for what was supposed to have happened. Not to mention it was painfully obvious that Eren had no marks on his neck where his mate should have bitten him to show his claim. She quirked an eyebrow at him; she didn’t say a word, yet she didn’t have to. Eren could feel the judgement, the silent question of why they hadn’t done anything suffocated Eren slowly. He didn’t say anything either, staring at the ground in his embarrassment until she finally left the room, having changed the sheets on the bed anyway.

So maybe not running into _some_ of the help was for the best. He just wished _someone_ would talk to him like he was a normal person, and not use such formal language; it was really starting to get ridiculous and it had only been a few weeks into his marriage.

Thankfully, his afternoons were usually much more eventful and a lot less lonely than his mornings. He was extremely thankful that he was allowed complete freedom when it came to both money and his ability to leave the estate whenever he wanted. There were usually a couple ways he would spend his afternoons.

One of the first things he did after realizing he was going to have _a lot_ of free time now was buy himself both a computer that could run the games he’d always wanted to play but never had the money for, and a Switch. He felt a little guilty at first for having spent money that technically wasn’t really his without asking but those feelings faded as the days went by and he was left alone. Those days he didn’t bother with his appearance, knowing for a fact hardly anyone would see him. He’d hole himself up in one of the three living rooms of the house that he had claimed for himself at this point and relaxed the day away. He enjoyed these days most of the time; though, he sometimes wished he had more friends that he could play the games with, but he didn’t let it get to him too bad. He’d eat whatever he felt like at any time, offsetting the extra fatty calories in his day by working out for a few hours in the morning and calling it good enough.

The second way he might spend his afternoon involved venturing outside the house and taking a car trip back into the city to see his friends. He had visited them on numerous occasions throughout the weeks to have some actual conversation for once. They all shared his frustration and disbelief over his circumstances, so it was nice to spend time with people who freely voiced their opinions to him without fear of repercussions. His family was supportive and all, but he couldn’t complain to them like he could his friends and he _really_ didn’t want them to know things were a lot less than perfect on his end of the deal. Mikasa would probably raise hell and he didn’t want her to do something rash as she often tended to do when it came to him.

Armin would listen intently as Eren voiced everything that was on his mind. He never tried to interject with his own thoughts on the matter until Eren had gotten it all out of his system, and he always wore such a concerned expression on his face. And sometimes, that’s all Eren really needed. All he wanted at that house was to feel heard and be listened too and Armin would give him that whenever they met up with the added bonus of the most comforting hug at the end of everything. Armin was the only one left out of their usual group of friends who hadn’t found a mate yet to settle down with. Which Eren didn’t think was a big deal but he knew sometimes that Armin felt a bit left out. The two of them used to be the single buddies, keeping each other company during group outings when the couples had all paired off to do other things. And though not much had changed since Eren’s husband never attended friend outings, Eren knew the fact that Armin didn’t have anyone weighed on him regardless. He hoped someone so sweet and caring would find _the_ best mate eventually; anything less than perfect and not only Eren would be on the guy’s ass about it but the entire group. Armin was their sweetheart after all.

“I’m sorry, Eren” he’d always say, holding his arms open for Eren to fall into. “It’ll be okay, I’m sure of it.”

Marco was always understanding, even as he sat in front of Eren completely exhausted from taking care of his son throughout the night. He’d bounce the toddler in his lap, going to great lengths to still give Eren sound advice and sincere reassurance. Eren admired his long-standing friend for his compassion and fierce way of always living his life to the fullest. He sometimes hoped fleetingly that Levi was even a fraction of the alpha Marco was, but that would require the man to actually talk to him and clearly that was too much to ask for.

“Don’t look so sad, Eren,” he would tell him. “You’re fantastic, and anyone who can’t see that is clearly blind.”

Jean, who was always equally as tired from taking care of his child _and_ making sure Marco didn’t work himself to death, would rant with him. Complaining about the situation and bad-mouthing people even more than Eren himself sometimes. Though he and Jean didn’t agree on most things and were always arguing about something this was apparently the one thing they could agree on vehemently. But despite that, Eren really was happy Jean had found someone to put up with his nonsense. Jean never held back when it came to his opinions or in getting what he wanted; it’s why Eren and him butted heads so often. But Eren did admire that about him since Jean, too, was a rather unconventional omega stature-wise. Eren wished he could have some of that confidence. He used to… He had no idea where it was these days.

“They’re all fucking stupid. Everyone must be crazy in that beast of a house,” Jean said for around the fifth time. “If I were you, I’d march right up to Mr. Cold and Uncaring and give him a piece of my mind. No filters, just truth. Even you shouldn’t be treated that way…”

Sasha and Connie, unlike the rest of them, wouldn’t even allow Eren to think about his issues. The pair of loud and often obnoxious betas would tell jokes, yell, and argue loudly about silly things, and do basically everything in their power to make Eren smile. They’d always been that way, but they could tell he needed it now more than ever. And they never disappointed, easily distracting him and making his problems feel miles away. He really appreciated their attention-grabbing ways more than ever as of late when before he sometimes would find them too childish for his tastes.

“So naturally, the waiter turns to the two alphas sitting at the table, figuring one of them _has_ to be Armin’s mate,” Sasha started, giggling between words. “And he says: ‘you’re going to let your omega behave like this?’.”

“And, and, and Reiner and Bertolt just look at each other confused and didn’t even get the chance to retort because Armin freaking tore this alpha a new one right in the middle of the restaurant,” Connie picked up where Sasha left off, both of them erupting into roaring laughter. They were practically screaming by this point, making the whole experience twenty times louder than it ever needed to be. People were starting to stare but Eren couldn’t have cared less, laughing right along with them. He knew _exactly_ the look Armin probably had on his face; he may have been soft spoken most of the time but had learned to stand up for himself _a lot_ more after a few terrible boyfriends.

“Can you imagine?” Connie wheezed.

“This huge dude cowering away from _Armin_ of all people who is like half his size while Reiner and Bertolt just sit there awkwardly over what was a small issue with a meal blown _waaay_ out of proportion!”

“Man, I’ve never laughed so hard in my life!”

“Our little Armin’s grown up so well.”

Eren didn’t hang out with Reiner and Bertolt too often; they were almost always busy with work. The two alphas had a rather unconventional relationship, but Eren could see how happy they were and who was he to tell them what they should and shouldn’t do? If they were happy, he was happy even if he didn’t talk to them very much anymore. Whenever he did, however, the two of them had practically adopted him as their own child at this point. Both of them were a few years older and natural instinct dictated that alphas would try to cheer up a sad omega they were close to even if they weren’t mated or even had no intention of marrying. But they doted in less obvious ways than what his siblings always did.

“I heard you had a rough week, so I figured you could just use this. It’s a little too small for me,” Reiner said, handing him over probably the fluffiest blanket Eren had ever felt. He’d always had a soft spot for well… soft things. And Reiner had remembered apparently even though Eren had maybe mentioned it once or twice in passing.

“And you can have this too,” Bertolt said, giving him a Tupperware dish filled with some sort of stew. “I made extra for you the other night because you look too sickly. Are you sure they’re feeding you over there?”

They worried so much over him despite not being family; Eren always felt spoiled and now found himself wishing that his husband felt the same need to dote on him, but he tried not to dwell on that while he was with them. Both alphas would look so pleased with themselves as the night went on and Eren’s mood improved greatly. He was so lucky to have these friends, though he had no idea how he had managed it.

Spending most of his day with his friends always brightened his rather dull new life. But obviously, they had lives outside of dealing with his problems so he couldn’t bother them every day, though.

So, the third and final way he could choose to spend his afternoons, after finding out no one was available for the day and video games didn’t really sound appealing, was that he’d find himself in a rather large, unused ballroom hidden deep within the manor.

He had stumbled upon the room one afternoon when he had gotten horribly lost looking for the living room where he’d stashed his computer back when he was still getting used to the layout of the manor. It was mainly empty since it looked like it hadn’t been used in years and a room meant for dancing really didn’t have a need for much furniture in the first place. There was, however, a singular piece pushed into the furthest corner from the door, covered in a white sheet to protect it from dust. Underneath, Eren had discovered a gorgeous, sleek, black grand piano. When he had played a few keys, he found the beautiful instrument to be in near perfect condition.

So, when he was left alone through to the afternoon, Eren would sit in the seemingly long-forgotten room, playing the piano until his fingers were sore and composing until his vision was swimming with music notes. He’d taken numerous piano lessons as a kid and felt he was pretty decent at playing. But with the help of some online musical theory and composition courses, paid for courtesy of his husband’s money, he was getting better and better. In no time, he found himself creating his own music. With no one telling him to stop, he’d spend hours playing and composing his heart out. It’s not like he had anything else to do or anywhere else to be anyway. No one came looking for him; not even when lunch time came and went around. He didn’t really need to eat all that much anyway.

But whenever dinner rolled around, Eren would tear himself away from his studies to find something to eat. Even if he weren’t hungry and he’d much rather continue creating music, he needed to stay healthy. Getting taken to the hospital for malnutrition would definitely cause some pretty disgusting gossip to arise. Levi ignored him, not abused him. Eren really didn’t want to slander the man’s name just because he had horrible eating habits. Even if neglect could be considered a form of abuse…

Like his breakfast every morning, his dinner was always set out for him and waiting, freshly made and delicious every time. Also like breakfast, Eren ate alone at the large, lonely table despite the fact that it was always set for two. Though Levi probably should’ve been home by this time to share the meal with him, he never came. Eren learned very quickly that the man practically lived at his job, staying at his offices well into the night. Nevertheless, the staff always set the table for two on the off-chance Levi came home on time, only succeeding in making Eren feel even more out of place and lonely. He’d taken to scrolling idly through his phone while he ate, distracting himself from the fact he was alone, playing music constantly from a small, portable speaker, drowning out the suffocating silence.

The first time that he had logged onto his various social media accounts while he ate, he was shocked to find his number of followers across everything had skyrocketed. He hardly even posted anything; it was always just a way to follow his favorite artists or bands and keep up with his friends and distant family; but suddenly thousands of people were interested in him. He tried not to read many of the comments that were posted on his pictures; he really didn’t care if they were good or bad, he was just uncomfortable with the fact that these people, who had never met him before, were suddenly interested in him for the sole reason that he married someone rich and relatively famous. Needless to say, he locked down all his accounts after he discovered his careless ignorance of privacy settings before his marriage.

For the first few days after his wedding, it was practically impossible to avoid stories and pictures of himself. He saw countless photos of himself, some of which were taken without him even knowing there was a camera on him. There were some of him walking down the aisle with his father, looking either completely terrified or confident depending on which half of the walk the picture was taken on. Others were of him standing with his hands in Levi’s or of the two placing their wedding rings on each other’s fingers. The majority were various angles of their first kiss together; Eren tried to avoid those out of embarrassment, however. But there was one photo, depicting him and Levi looking at each other with small smiles on both their faces that was particularly popular. Always with the caption: “The new and happy couple.”

If only…

There were also rather old pictures of himself, probably pulled from his social media accounts before he locked them, that were circulating the internet attached to articles attempting to outline what kind of person he was. He hadn’t had a single interview with any of these journalists and most of the pictures they used weren’t recent enough to look anything like he currently did. Where any of these men and women got their information was lost on him, especially since a good part of the articles they wrote were totally wrong.

The fact that he hadn’t been interviewed by anyone also led to the formation of some pretty strange gossip in an attempt to fill in questions that the general populace didn’t have the answers to. There was, of course, a bit of backlash that Levi had married another man. It certainly wasn’t unheard of for two men to get married since primary gender didn’t really matter when it came to alphas and omegas mating. The strange part in Levi’s case was that someone in such a high position of power and with a very noble name, had married a man. It was much harder to produce an heir between two men, not impossible, but definitely harder due to the nature of male-born omega biology. So there was a reasonable amount of speculation as to why Levi Ackerman had married a man with little, to no social standing of his own on top of it all. Eren paid no mind to those blatant lies and pathetic grabs for readers, though. He knew for certain that some of those rumors were completely false. But some of the others… well, those bothered Eren probably a bit more than they should’ve.

Apparently, during his trips to visit his friends, some cameras had found him. There was a plethora of pictures of him walking down the street, completely oblivious to the fact that he was getting his picture taken, and sometimes with his friends blurred out next to him. At least he looked good in the photos; maybe constantly dressing up was a good thing after all. He also appreciated that all the outlets, scummy they may be, kept his friends’ identities a secret. They didn’t need to be harassed because of him. But all that was the least of his worries. The articles written around such photos made him question quite a few things about everything he thought he knew.

The hidden cameras had caught a lot more than he would’ve thought while he was walking down the street. More specifically, they had caught his perfectly unmarred neck, showing that he had not been officially claimed by his mate. This singular fact, combined with that he was always seen without his husband and sometimes, how scandalous, other _alphas_ , had caused quite the uproar. Some articles speculated that perhaps his bite was in a place more covert but that wasn’t exactly tradition for elite families to do. So the only obvious conclusion was that Eren hadn’t been claimed yet. Why hadn’t the couple bonded yet? It’d been a few weeks, was there something wrong with Eren? Was there a reason Levi hadn’t claimed him? There just had to be something wrong with Eren.

And after a couple articles posing such questions, Eren started to wonder the same. Even though he was there that night, heard Levi’s words and saw the inner conflict the man’s body had gone through, still something didn’t sit quite right. Why hadn’t Levi done anything though he had clearly wanted to and Eren was obligated to go through with? Levi had said he didn’t want to force himself on Eren if he didn’t want him in turn, but was that his actual reason? No alpha thought that way. Levi had said maybe a grand total of twenty unique words to him. Forcing him to have sex with him and talking to him were two totally different things. Holding a conversation with him and paying attention to him wouldn’t be forcing him to do something he didn’t want to do; if anything, it would make him feel better about this whole ordeal.

But even so, it seemed like Levi went out of his way to avoid him sometimes. What _was_ wrong with Eren? Was he really so undesirable? Did Levi feel that repulsed by him? Why had he even gone through with the wedding if that were the case? The only person that could answer such questions was the man himself so Eren really didn’t have much hope in ever finding out the answers.

He started playing games on his Switch during dinner from that point on, his phone forgotten somewhere else in the manor while he ate.

When he had finished, he’d head to the very large library in the front of the house off the foyer. He was in awe for a good hour when he had entered the room for the first time; there were so many books placed carefully on the shelves that covered every inch of available wall. This room was the homiest in the entire house. Each book had been handled with such care and placed in a well-organized way; someone had clearly loved these books. A loving and comfortable scent had settled throughout the room, making it feel welcoming and familiar. It made Eren appreciate it a whole lot more. He’d spend the entire evening reading pleasantly to the sound of a crackling fireplace, usually with a glass of well-aged wine. These times were the most relaxing; a time where he could place all his worries aside and enjoy himself.

Time often passed quickly during his evenings and before he knew it, it was well into the night and his husband was finally coming home. The first couple days, Eren had stood up and greeted the man as he passed by the open library doors. Levi would stop and return his bow respectfully with a quick “hello”, eyes never quite meeting Eren’s before he disappeared within the house. Those encounters left Eren even more confused and, combined with the rumors he had read about, wondering why the hell Levi had married him at all if he was going to continue treating him like a stranger.

After numerous awkward encounters, Eren stopped bothering with pleasantries. It was also around that time he stopped cleaning up after himself so rigorously. He took the butler’s warning to keep things clean to heart in the beginning but if his husband didn’t care what he did, Eren hardly saw a point. His mother probably would’ve had a heart attack if she saw her son’s blatant and purposeful disregard for manners, but he didn’t care. If Levi was going to ignore him, he was going to ignore Levi too. Two could play at that game. It was petty, but he felt momentarily vindicated every time.

He didn’t need validation from a mate to be happy. He didn’t even need a mate to be happy in the first place. But now he didn’t have the choice to find someone that actually did make him happy. He’d been married off to a man who ignored him, who clearly didn’t care enough to get to know him. And the more he thought about it, the angrier he got so he really didn’t care that he no longer ‘behaved properly’. Levi had lost that luxury. He was going to do what he enjoyed and if Levi wanted to actually care, Eren would be waiting for an apology. He certainly wasn’t going to go out of his way to try anymore.

When he got tired enough and felt pleasantly warm from the mixture of the fireplace and the wine, Eren would meander his way up to his bedroom, often admiring the paintings and other decorations as he went. He’d take a shower, or a bubble bath in his swimming pool of a tub if he felt like spoiling himself. Then, he’d climb into his wonderfully comfortable bed and fall asleep within maybe a half-hour of trying.

It wasn’t a particularly terrible way to live if he ignored the growing loneliness. He didn’t have to work a God-awful office job anymore and got to take music classes like he had always wanted. He ate decadent meals, dressed in expensive clothes, and hardly had to lift a finger to help around the house. When he remembered all this, things got a little brighter. He could literally do anything he wanted within reason. Everything in the world at his fingertips.

So naturally, on a Friday night three weeks after his wedding, Eren decided he would take up cooking as a hobby again. He used to cook all the time when he lived with his family, mainly to help out his mother by taking on some of the chores around the house and to keep Zeke as far away from the kitchen as possible. Eren had gotten pretty good at it over the years if he were to brag and he didn’t want to lose such a useful skill by not continuing to practice. It was something new to do. So, feeling determined, Eren ventured into the kitchen for the first time. There was only one other person in the room when he entered. The woman had instantly shot over to him, introducing herself as the head chef of the household.

“But you can just call me Petra if you’d like, Master Eren,” she said sweetly, bowing to him as she finished.

Eren quickly told her that ‘just Eren’ would be fine, finding the addition of ‘Master’ to his name wholly uncomfortable. He also made sure to praise her excellent cooking—Petra had looked positively proud of herself at such compliments—before giving her the night off. Her face had instantly lit up upon hearing Eren say this, launching into a series of deep bows and ‘thank yous’. Eren felt even more uncomfortable than before especially since she refused to drop the honorific no matter what he said but seeing the bright smile on her face at getting the opportunity to spend a Friday night with her family made the embarrassment worth it. She’d shown him pictures of her three children, gushing over how cute they were before practically tackling Eren in a hug. He hadn’t even meant to make her night; he just wanted to take over her kitchen. Guess it was a win-win scenario for the both of them.

With the chef gone, Eren was left alone in the sparkling kitchen. Every surface was perfectly clean, upheld to high standards of cleanliness and organization. The countertops were a beautiful lightly colored granite, offsetting the dark oak cabinets rather well. There was every appliance and utility one would expect from a kitchen and then some. A smaller version of the official dining room table sat within the room, able to seat six comfortably. Eren had been right in his earlier assumption that the kitchen would be of such a high grade; his mother could die happily if she had a kitchen like this one. He much preferred the prospect of eating in this room rather than the big empty dining room as well. And since he was pretty sure he just made a rather powerful friend within the head chef, he might be able to shift where he normally ate. Even if it were a very formal conversation, it would be better than nothing. He’d ask tomorrow morning when Petra came back to work.

For today, he would be cooking his own meal and could sit wherever he desired. Sure, he was still alone but he’d feel fulfilled if it were his own food he was enjoying alone.

Scrolling through the conveniently placed tablet on the counter in a stand, he looked for a recipe that looked appealing enough to give a shot. When he found one, he connected the tablet to his portable speaker he had brought with him, queued up some music to fill the silence, and got started. It wasn’t a particularly hard dish to make. It certainly wouldn’t be as grand as what he normally ate but it looked really delicious in the picture and Eren had been craving noodles all day anyway. If it turned out horrible, he’d just order some take-out or bother some of his friends to see if they had food he could bum off of.

He worked determinately, following the recipe to a tee, and singing along to his music. It was entirely relaxing to be in his element again, actually doing his own work instead of having someone else do it felt revitalizing. He never thought he’d actually miss doing housework. Well, maybe not cleaning… but definitely cooking; he had really missed cooking. Getting his hands dirty and making a mess of himself made him wish there were someone with him to share in his fun. When he lived with his family, there was always someone who tried to get a taste of the food before it was finished which ultimately ended with bits of food flying all over their tiny kitchen. Simpler times… now he was alone in this beast of a kitchen. It certainly wasn’t a horrible situation, but, like always, he just wished there were someone with him.

The recipe he had found would comfortably feed two; Eren wondered if perhaps his husband would be home at the expected time tonight. It was a Friday night after all, and he didn’t think the man would spend the weekend at his offices, but he expected to be proven completely wrong. Nevertheless, Eren was feeling hopeful tonight, even though he had no actual reason to. He was in a good mood though after a day spent doing nothing but playing video games and watching Disney movies like when he was a child, so he allowed himself to think positively for a change. Eren didn’t cut the recipe in half, making the full amount with a small bit of hope that he wouldn’t have to eat alone tonight.

When he finished the meal, Eren set the small table within the kitchen for himself. He didn’t place out a second set of plates, only left them on one of the counters in case his husband made an appearance. He didn’t want to stare at the empty plates as he normally did if the man never showed up. He plated his food, poured himself a glass of wine that the recipe had suggested he drink with the meal, and sat down to eat with his music playing at a much softer volume in the background.

He was pleasantly surprised by the quality of his food. Having never attempted a dish like this before, he wasn’t sure how it would turn out. But as he was cooking, the food had filled the kitchen with a wonderful smell and now that he was eating it, the dish lived up to its scent. He felt rather proud of himself, wishing he could share this achievement with another person. He tried not to think about the absence of another person too much; he’d made something really delicious; he was in a good mood; he didn’t need anyone else. He thought about texting Armin or Mikasa about it… but he decided against it. They wouldn’t care that he made dinner; they made dinner every day too.

He cleaned up the kitchen once he was finished, making sure that everything was placed back where it was supposed to be so he didn’t inconvenience the employees that would come back tomorrow morning. He left out his leftover food, though. There was still quite a bit left and throwing it away just seemed wasteful. He put it all in a tub with a lid over it, leaving it next to the unused plate he had pulled out earlier. Levi could eat it when he got home since Eren had sent his chef home early after all.

When he was satisfied with his cleaning job and felt it would meet his husband’s ‘high preference for cleanliness’, he grabbed the bottle of wine he had opened, a fresh glass, and his speaker/phone combination to then go to his normal spot for this time of the evening. A quick look out the front windows of the house as he passed them by on his way to the library showed that his husband had not, in fact, returned from his offices yet. Eren sighed aloud, chastising himself for thinking that anything would change. He hadn’t even told the man he was making dinner, so he couldn’t really blame Levi for not showing up even if he _really_ wanted to…

He walked into the library then, pushing open the large doors and leaving them open so he could see the various goings on in the foyer. He set down his belongings on the coffee table that was surrounded by three plush couches in front of the fireplace before going in search of the book he had been reading lately. The fireplace had already been lit; Eren figured the staff had his daily schedule figured out by now and had started the fire up for him while he ate dinner. He really had to thank anyone he found the next time he caught them for the insane number of things they always did around the house for him. He was extremely grateful every time he noticed the small things.

When he found his book, he settled down onto the couch, feeling comforted by the warmth from the fire and the pleasant smell that permeated the whole room. He could never quite place such a smell; it was definitely a person’s, but he was sure he had never encountered it before. Even so, it was familiar enough that it bothered him whenever he got a particularly large lung-full of the smell. Regardless of what it was, it brought the whole room together, easily making it Eren’s favorite in the house.

He read quietly from his book, sipping from his alcohol on occasion and listening to his quiet music. Occasionally he’d catch a glimpse of an employee walking throughout the house; the few that recognized him would offer a small smile or a timid wave but most just kept walking, paying no mind to Eren at all. The butler came in at one point as he read, asking if he required anything one last time before he retired for the night but Eren was quick to dismiss him. Anything he needed he could easily get himself; he really didn’t want to trouble the aging man so late in the evening. Even if he insisted that it was his job, it still felt wrong to make him do something Eren could easily do himself. But for the most part, Eren was left alone as the sun set and the room became darker. The lights automatically turned on once it got dark enough, a convenient little feature of the house that Eren rather appreciated.

At around midnight, just as Eren decided he would go start his nightly routine, the front door was opened as Eren was leaving the library and his husband entered the house. He looked a little surprised to see Eren standing in the library doorway since Eren hadn’t gotten up to greet him for quite some time. Leaning against the doorframe, Eren regarded his husband carefully, sipping from his half-full glass of wine.

“It’s rather late,” he said in a pathetic attempt to start a conversation. It came off more accusatory than he meant it, but he didn’t care enough to correct his tone. His husband looked positively exhausted; he wondered just how much sleep this man worked off of from day to day. Why he worked himself so hard when he obviously had very capable people helping him run everything, Eren couldn’t understand.

“Is it?” Levi asked quietly, looking down at his watch and blinking at it slowly. Did he not realize how late he worked every night? This wasn’t even the latest Eren had heard him come home. Eren held back a short laugh at the thought.

“Hmmm,” he hummed in agreement instead, hopefully hiding his exasperation by taking another swig from his glass. “Have you eaten?”

Levi looked at him blankly, clearly completely confused by the question. He supposed that was a fair reaction; they hadn’t had an actual conversation like this before.

“No, I haven’t,” Levi answered, his eyebrows knotting together ever so slightly. Was that… embarrassment? Eren was sure reading it that way. He was struck by just how young the man looked in this moment. They were ten years apart and Levi always looked so serious and mature, but he was still considered a ‘young man’. The stress of running a multi-trillion-dollar company on practically no sleep always left him looking so much older than he was despite that. Levi actually looked his age for once as he stood in front of Eren now, looking ashamed of himself at getting caught skipping a meal.

“I sent the cook home early today but made dinner myself instead,” Eren started to explain. “The leftovers are on the counter in the kitchen, just warm them up for a bit in the microwave.”

And with that, Eren pushed himself off the doorframe and started to make his way through the foyer of the house, passing Levi as he went. He caught a bit of Levi’s scent; nerves mixed with his usually pleasant smell. Eren wondered if he made his husband nervous. If that were the case, why would he have that sort of reaction to him? It didn’t make much sense, after all. Eren, himself, didn’t feel any sort of anxiety anymore whenever Levi was around. Maybe it was because he knew the man would ignore him completely anyway, but he wanted to think it was because he realized there was logically nothing to really be afraid of. Levi obviously thought differently.

“Thank you,” Levi called after him, he almost didn’t catch it with how quiet it was spoken. Without even turning around to look back, Eren said:

“Make sure you eat. Maybe sleep while you’re at it.”

Then he was up the stairs and turning a corner, leaving his nervous and confused husband alone in the foyer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!   
> All comments appreciated! 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter if you wanna @AAvery151


	3. Nothing Gained, Nothing Lost

Eren pulled the scarf around his neck a little higher, huddling over his cup of coffee just a bit more in an attempt to appear smaller. He hoped no one in the busy café he sat in would notice or recognize him. He’d had enough of that for one day. His little shopping trip hadn’t gone exactly the way he had hoped to say the least.

That weekend, though his husband hadn’t left the house to go to his offices and work, the man had spent every waking moment working in his home office instead. Eren had tried to enter at one point, just to see if he could start a conversation, but the door had been locked. So once again, Eren was ignored. It was going on their fourth week as a married couple and they could barely hold a conversation without it being awkward as hell. Needless to say, Eren was feeling rather bitter about the whole situation. If the only reason the man married him was for his father’s breakthroughs, then he was just being cruel. There were so many other options besides marriage to solidify a merger in this day and age; so many simpler ways that didn’t involve turning Eren’s life upside down. Eren just wished the man would outright tell him his father’s work was the reasoning behind his neglectful behavior and not that something was wrong with him. But no, Eren didn’t get that. Instead, he was left bitterly wondering if Levi even cared.

So, in an attempt to make himself feel better, Eren had decided to go shopping. Spending his husband’s money on things he really didn’t need had felt pretty good at first. Besides his music courses and the occasional video game—and maybe, sometimes food—Eren really hadn’t spent much money despite having been given his own debit card and the freedom to use it anytime he wanted. So this little outing felt pretty good, racking up a large price tag and finding a few things he actually really wanted and clothes he felt he looked really good in. Not that his husband would care to notice; at least he’d look good for the hidden paparazzi that practically followed him everywhere when he was out in public. He didn’t think spending money would in any way affect his husband, it probably didn’t even come anywhere near an annoyance, but Eren didn’t have any other way to act out that wasn’t illegal, so he would shop and spend a lot of money.

But like everything else in his life so far, it all came crashing down on him when he least expected.

“Is that…?”

“Yeah, I think its him.”

“He really isn’t all that handsome in person, is he?”

“Yeah, you’re right. But look, can you see anything?”

“He _hasn’t_ been claimed, has he?”

“Do you think there’s something wrong with him like they say?”

“He’s way too big for an omega, don’t you think?”

“Kinda off-putting, totally.”

Eren could clearly hear the two ladies gossiping about him as he browsed through the various clothing racks at one of his old, favorite stores. They were trying to be quiet, trying to be discreet, but Eren still caught everything. He put the sweater he had been looking at back down on the rack. A wave of embarrassment and sadness washed over him. He hadn’t felt so ashamed of the way he looked ever in his life before this moment. He couldn’t help any of the ‘flaws’ those women had pointed out… He had been born this way. He knew he didn’t look like the conventional omega, but that didn’t mean he had to be so undesirable. But even so, in the public’s eye, and evidently in his own husband’s, that was exactly the case.

Eren had slowly made his way over to a scarf display within the department store and ended up leaving with one around his neck and a couple more in the bag he carried. It was getting colder outside as of late; no one would look twice at him walking down the street in a scarf this time of year. And if the garment hid his neck and whether or not he had been claimed by his husband from prying eyes, all the better. The rumors and photo evidence were already out there; he couldn’t stop that; it was too late. But with the scarves, he could at least stop people from looking at him and immediately knowing all the rumors were true and the photos weren’t fabricated. That small fact made him feel a little better… a little.

Taking a sip of his rapidly cooling latte, Eren watched the news playing off a TV in the small, bustling coffee shop. After his rather disheartening shopping experience, to brighten his mood again, he decided to get a cup of hot coffee, the warm beverage doing wonders to stave off the cold outside. It’d been a while since he’d gotten something from this shop and the familiarity of it was comforting. No one, so far, had even looked twice at him as he sat at his small table in a corner of the shop. There were enough people within the store, mixing smells with the overwhelming scent of coffee, no one would know he was an omega even without being on his scent inhibitors. To be honest, he was living for this. No one was whispering about him right in front of his face or trying to not so secretly take his photo on their cellphone. He didn’t want to go home just yet; then he’d be alone in a large, empty house with only his thoughts. Though he wouldn’t have to worry about getting recognized if he went home, the ever-present loneliness when he was at home sounded even less appealing. So, he stayed where he was, enjoying the familiar scent of the shop, the familiar atmosphere, the familiar taste of his favorite hot drink. If he didn’t think about his shitty life as it was, he could almost fool himself into thinking he’d be going back home to his loving mother and father and his doting siblings.

But unfortunately for him, reminders of his life and the lonely home he’d have to go back to eventually were everywhere. About half-way through his coffee, the newscast that was playing over on a nearby TV ended and the programming switched to an over-the-top, gaudy entertainment talk show. And of course, as if Eren could expect anything less, the top story was about none other than Levi Ackerman himself.

Normally, business owners, even rather successful ones, were hardly ever considered celebrities worth talking about more than once or twice every few months. Levi had been a special case, however; mainly because he came out of nowhere and no one really knew a lot about him despite carrying a noble name. What kind of man he was, his likes and dislikes, his beliefs, his early childhood; it was a mystery to anyone outside looking in. Hell, Eren was his husband and the man was still a complete enigma to even him. All that was known were the basics, information basically anyone asking the right questions to the right people could figure out.

The man was a young alpha, thirty-two years of age that had presented at the age of twenty-one which was a little strange for an alpha but not exactly unheard of. He didn’t have any siblings that anyone was aware of, leaving him the uncontested heir to the Ackerman’s family business.

His mother, as far as anyone really knew, had abandoned the Ackerman family around forty years ago to elope with a man who held no social standing of note. So instead, Kenneth Ackerman took over the, at the time, failing family business. Eren wasn’t exactly sure what the Ackerman’s initial claim to fame was and the entertainment show didn’t go over it so it must not have been all that important. What _was_ important was how the new head of the family chose to dig his business out of near bankruptcy. Numerous shady business tactics, a couple million dollars worth of bribes, investments in less than humane military exploits, and an overbearing loan shark venture that always managed to evade the law later found the Ackerman family back where they had been at the peak of their original social standing. But the show didn’t linger much on the corrupt dealings of Levi’s uncle, he wasn’t the main focus of the story. Instead, the broadcast only brought up the way the company was run before to show the leaps and bounds Levi had improved the company by.

Kenneth Ackerman had no kids, outwardly refused to have kids if rumors were to be believed, but shareholders and company board members pressured him into finding who would succeed him next within the Ackerman family. That’s when Levi came into the picture. Almost twenty years ago today, a twelve-year-old Levi Ackerman was adopted by his uncle, his parents apparently missing and presumed dead soon after. The boy was kept a secret from the public for a good portion of his life until he presented as an alpha and was named the next in line for the company. Then seven years after that, at the age of twenty-eight, Levi took over as CEO and owner of the company when his uncle unexpectedly died due to circumstances speculated to be related to his shady business deals. The first time Levi was ever put in the public’s line of sight was during his speech about how he planned to run his family’s business; before then, no one had ever heard of him. He spoke of leaving his Uncle’s corruption and malpractice behind and turning the company around for the better. He immediately shifted the company’s dealings to the pharmaceutical industry and developing affordable drugs to make everyone’s lives easier. He completely cleaned house, firing most of the men and women Kenneth had employed and were complicit with the shady business dealings of before and changing the image associated with the Ackerman name for the better. Immediately, gossip forums and entertainment programs like the one Eren was watching now had become entranced by the young CEO. He was handsome, young, single, moral, and most importantly a billionaire; of course, he would have thousands of people ogling after him. Levi himself, on the other hand and unlike any of his previous family members, had gone out of his way to avoid anyone interviewing him beyond the occasional conference he was required to have to discuss his company’s new innovations.

Eren remembered the first time he’d seen the man on TV. His first thought, just like everyone else’s, was that he really was an attractive person. He was compelling to watch speak, mature, and commanding respect despite his, at the time, young age and small stature. Now of course, Eren thought of him as a right ass but that was neither here nor there.

Before the story jumped into full force, they gave a quick rundown on who exactly Levi was and why he was important on this stupid little gossip outlet. His company had quickly rose to _the_ top research and development firm for pharmaceuticals to inhibit scent, block heats, prevent pregnancy, increase fertility; basically, anything an alpha or omega could ask for to live a life without biology getting in the way. He was an important figurehead to the industry blah blah blah, Eren had heard all this already. He had a sneaking suspicion he was about to hear more of the same old rumors surrounding the marriage as well. All these “entertainment news” shows were completely pointless. They always poised questions to intrigue their audiences but then never answered anything, enabling the audience to fill in the gaps and spread further gossip that they could then just regurgitate for next week. And sure enough, after the recap, they jumped right into the man’s marriage to an unorthodox omega and resident nobody: Eren Jaeger. At least they had used a recent picture of him for the little thumbnail on the background screens so that he actually looked like the person they were talking about.

Eren wondered if his husband was aware of the rumors surrounding their strange marriage. He would assume he did; it was practically impossible not to see or hear them from somewhere. The man probably had a board of investors constantly looking at his reputation, so he found it hard to believe he didn’t know any of them. Levi had been called a plethora of negative names by the media before so maybe the man was just used to ignoring any and all rumors surrounding himself. Eren wished he could’ve had the same sentiment going into all this, he would’ve been a lot better off not knowing what the public thought of himself and the billionaire CEO he married.

But if Levi did know about all these rumors and degrading comments on the type of person Eren was, he still did nothing to remedy the situation. Eren couldn’t stop these nasty lies. Everyone and their mothers knew he was an omega now; anything he said wouldn’t be taken seriously at all. If anything, it would probably generate more gossip and slander. Everyone would assume he was being forced to say such things to keep his husband’s name from being dragged through the mud so if there was any hope of getting rid of such rumors, Levi would have to dispel them himself. But yet again, his husband had done nothing, furthering the notion that he simply did not care.

But then the channel was changed on the TV by request of some other customers. Eren’s own face disappeared off the screen to be replaced by a soccer game. He pulled his scarf up a bit more in case anyone decided to look his way and notice the face that had been on the TV just moments before and settled back in his chair. He didn’t realize how tense watching that story had made him. But soccer was on now; he’d always enjoyed soccer. He hadn’t gotten to play in forever but watching it was the next best thing. He held his warm mug in both hands and pulled it closer to him, watching the TV, and forgetting for a few moments how alone he was.

~*~

Eren walked as confidently as he could into the very large skyscraper where his husband worked. He hoped he didn’t look as absolutely terrified as he felt. He was sure his nerves were obvious in his scent but at least he could look confident. He wanted to do this though. He _had_ to try something. This perpetual state of loneliness and neglect was getting old. So, he tightened his grip on the bag he carried on his shoulder and held his head a little higher, feigning confidence as best he could.

On this Wednesday afternoon, almost five weeks after their pointless wedding, Eren had decided that he would make an attempt to form at least a friendship with the man he was supposedly married to. He spent his morning in the kitchen, learning from their very well-experienced chef on how to make a delicious lunch he could easily pack up and carry with him. Thanks to Petra’s expertise, Eren had learned quite a few useful techniques and tricks in the kitchen over the past few couple of days and he thought the food he carried with him now was actually pretty well made. He wouldn’t have traveled all the way downtown if it weren’t, after all. He was hoping to finally share a meal with his husband and potentially have a conversation longer than a few sentences. Eren got the impression that his husband was a workaholic—there was practically no other explanation for how much time and effort Levi spent working—he probably skipped lunch on the daily as Eren normally did as well. So maybe this gesture would do them both some good. Lord knows Eren, himself, needed better eating habits.

But his determination to form an actual relationship with the man he was married to did nothing to quell his nerves. The building in which Levi worked was massive, certainly one of the tallest in the city. Eren had never been in a building like this before; he was unsure of how he was supposed to act in a corporate place like this.

Even on just the ground floor, there were tons of people in various amounts of hurry rushing around the place. All of them were well-dressed and entirely focused on their tasks at hand. Everyone smelled like a beta; though, Eren figured almost all of them were on the various medications the company they worked for sold so that biology couldn’t get in the way of their work. And though no one paid Eren any mind as he walked through the ground floor towards the elevators, he still stood out like a sore thumb. The clothes he wore themselves were very expensive, but he was still dressed casually with a scarf pulled up around his neck to hide his lack of bonding marks in comparison to the suits all around him.

He had only a vague idea of where he was going and certainly looked completely lost as he slowly made his way over to the elevators. He was sure everyone who walked by him could smell that he was an omega, yet still, no one gave him a second glance. Maybe they all knew who he was and was able to deduce why he was here? He couldn’t imagine there were very many unmedicated omegas that just casually walked into their place of work on the regular when their experimental labs were in a completely different building. Plus, his face was everywhere now; he would be surprised if none of them had heard of him. Especially when his face and name were now attached to the title of their boss and CEO Levi Ackerman’s husband.

Once Eren reached the elevators, he patiently waited for one to arrive for him and then pressed the button for the very top floor once inside. As the elevator slowly made its way up the very tall building, Eren’s nerves grew with it. He wasn’t the most social person on this planet. He didn’t like putting himself out there like this. For all he knew, Levi wasn’t even in his office at the moment. Maybe he was busy, in a meeting, or not even in the building at all. Maybe Eren should’ve called first before spontaneously deciding to show up here and propose that the two of them have lunch together.

It couldn’t hurt to try, though, could it? Worst case scenario was that Eren would just leave the way he had just come.

Even if Eren wanted to chicken out and go back home, the elevator slid to a halt, dinging finitely as it opened up to the top floor of the skyscraper. Eren stepped out slowly, taking in his surroundings. He was in a small waiting room, decorated very expensively yet tastefully, with a receptionist’s desk next to large double doors that probably led to Levi’s actual office. A man sat behind the table, typing away at his keyboard completely engrossed in the screen in front of him. Eren cleared his throat when it became obvious he hadn’t noticed his arrival. He looked up at him before breaking into a small, polite smile.

“How can I help you, sir?” He asked pleasantly. Eren shifted his weight from foot to foot in his nervousness.

“I’m here to see Levi…” Eren corrected himself quickly. “Mr. Ackerman. I’m here to see Mr. Ackerman.”

“Do you have an appointment?” He asked in return.

“No…” Eren said hesitantly.

“Can I get a name, then?”

“Uhh Eren? …His Husband.”

“Oh!” The man exclaimed, clearly taken off guard as he jumped up and extended a hand towards Eren. “Of course! Mr. Jaeger, it’s nice to finally meet you. My name is Erwin Smith, Mr. Ackerman’s assistant.”

Eren took the man’s hand, shaking it in return.

“Nice to meet you too, Mr. Smith,” Eren returned, feeling a little awkward. He was way out of his element.

“I’ll let Mr. Ackerman know you’re here right away.”

“Thank you,” Eren said, nodding gratefully before moving away from the desk to wait for his husband’s arrival. He heard the man say a few things into the telecom, announcing his arrival to his boss. Eren had to wait only a few more moments before the office doors were flying open. Levi rushed into the room, looking a little disheveled as he approached. Eren was taken aback by the man’s sudden appearance and apparent worry.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, stopping just short of Eren. He reached out as if to touch him but stopped himself short of that as well. He looked tired. Beyond all the perfectly put together clothes, and the perfectly styled hair, and the perfectly clear skin, he looked exhausted. Eren wished he knew the man enough to order him to take a nap or something. Maybe he could get to that level at some point. “Did something happen?”

“W-what?” Eren asked, wondering why in the world the man seemed to be on the verge of a panic attack. “No nothing’s wrong, nothing happened.”

Levi visibly relaxed at Eren’s words, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair before dropping them both back to his sides once more.

“O-okay,” Levi sighed out, looking positively relieved. “Okay, good.”

He took another deep breath to calm himself, placing his hands on his hips and looking at his shoes for a moment before turning his attention back to Eren.

“Why’re you here? Did you need something?” He asked.

Eren took a moment to form his sentence. He knew he shouldn’t have felt so nervous about asking something so simple, but he couldn’t help it; all his insecurities came crashing down on him all over again. He definitely should’ve called first, asking would’ve been much simpler over the phone.

“I… I made…” Eren cut himself off to start over, clearing his throat and attempting to speak with more confidence. “I was wondering if you would have lunch with me today.”

Levi didn’t say anything at first and Eren wouldn’t look up from the little diamond patterns on the carpet either. What a pair they made.

“I have a business lunch in thirty minutes…” Levi said quietly, almost as if he were thinking out loud instead of actually talking to Eren. But Eren understood well enough even without the sentence being directed at him. He really should’ve called first.

“I understand,” Eren said. “You’re busy. I should’ve called.”

Eren began to back away before turning around completely. Levi clearly didn’t have any time for him today either so there was no reason for him to stick around. He didn’t want to get in the way.

“Wait!” Levi said, grabbing Eren’s hand in an attempt to get him to stop. It worked well enough; Eren felt a jolt of something he had never experienced before go up his arm at Levi’s touch, flooring him in an instant. He was suddenly bombarded by the man’s scent all around him. After living in his house for so long, he was used to it just being a constant in the background of his senses. But in this moment, he was overcome by his pheromones. It made him feel pleasant, a little dreamy. But he pushed past it, knowing that such thoughts would only complicate things. Damn his biology. Why did he have to be born this way?

“I could reschedule,” Levi offered, snapping Eren out of his daze. “If you really wanted to, I’m sure I could—”

“No,” Eren said, cutting him off. “I wouldn’t want to get in the way of your work.”

He heard Levi start to say something more, but he paid him no mind. He called the elevator, grateful for the fact that it was still waiting for him from when he rode up and got on. Levi made no further effort to stop him, watching silently with an unreadable expression on his face as the elevator doors slid shut and began to carry Eren back down to the ground floor.

He tried not to feel disappointed. He had known deep down that this little outing wasn’t going to turn out perfectly. He really should’ve called first…

So instead, Eren traveled on foot to a much smaller building a few blocks away, much more in his comfort zone. He had visited this little place so many times, he felt no anxiety walking into it like he had into his husband’s building. And almost the second he stepped inside the small office building; he was bombarded by excited shouting. Sasha, Connie, and Armin were much happier to see him than his husband had been, and he figured sharing his lunch with these three was definitely a step up from going back to the estate and eating his homemade lunch alone.

~*~

Eren sighed as he practically collapsed into a chair as far away from the center of the room as possible; he’d had enough social interaction with complete strangers in the last few hours to last him a lifetime. He wished he could loosen his tie at least or let down his hair just so that he didn’t feel so uncomfortable, but he was in the public’s eye right now and he had to play the part of the perfect, well-behaved omega. No one told him that, but that’s definitely the feeling Eren got after having a three-hour briefing earlier with a media trainer about what he could and couldn’t say and who he could and couldn’t talk to.

He’d woken up today to polite knocking on his bedroom door, which wasn’t an out of place situation in and of itself. Sometimes the butler would wake him up that way if he had slept too long to inform him his breakfast was getting cold. But today had been different; for one, it was well before the time he normally pulled himself out of bed. When he opened the door, he was surprised to see, not the butler, but the same group of stylists who had helped him almost a month and a half ago for his wedding. They told him they were here to help him get ready for a big, fancy gala being hosted by his husband’s company and then looked completely shocked when Eren had absolutely no idea what they were talking about.

“Mr. Ackerman didn’t tell you?” The head stylist asked.

Eren shook his head, tired brain trying to keep up with what was happening. The ladies all looked at him with pity clear in their eyes but quickly perked back up moments later. They happily explained what his schedule looked like today, where he had to be and when. Eren listened as closely as he could but a lot of it went in one ear and right out the other. He felt groggy and gross earlier this morning and a constant stream of information being dumped on him just wasn’t working; he must not have slept well last night.

They stylists helped him coordinate an outfit and styled his hair for him into something interesting instead of his normal haphazard way of doing things himself. Then, they left him to go eat breakfast, telling him they’d meet with him again later tonight before he went to the gala to make sure everything was perfectly in place. They also told him that a media expert would be meeting with him later that afternoon but didn’t tell him exactly what that meant…

He had Petra make him an extra cup of coffee for breakfast, knowing he would need the extra caffeine to help him through the ginormous list of tasks he had set out for him today. He ended up drinking three just to feel normal again. He _really_ must’ve not slept well last night.

By midday, the media trainer the stylist had told him about came calling on him. He was a very… peculiar man; not exactly what Eren had been expecting.

When the man had first entered the room, Eren had jumped up immediately from his seat, introducing himself politely and holding out a hand in greeting. Instead of accepting the handshake, the tall blonde leaned forward and sniffed the air very obviously and audibly. Eren froze, totally unsure how to react.

“I’m Mike Zacharias, nice to meet you,” he said finally, walking past Eren further into the room, completely ignoring Eren’s outstretched hand. _What the…?_ Eren recovered quickly, however, ready to learn whatever the man had to teach him.

It was all basic formalities mostly. He’d be in the presence of company board members, investors, other noble family members, and generally very important people. Eren had to watch what he said should he end up talking to any of them to avoid divulging things he shouldn’t, accidentally offending someone, or start any unfavorable rumors.

If anyone asked Eren what his father did now for the company he could answer vaguely but should not go into details no matter how hard anyone pressed for more information. Should they ask about any rumors surrounding the company, Levi, or even Eren himself, he’d deny any knowledge about it. Especially if they asked about their marriage; best to just avoid that subject all together.

The meeting was a relatively quick one compared to what Eren had been expecting. Mike didn’t mince words, only saying exactly what he needed to and nothing more. Eren had done his best to keep track of everything but there were too many specific scenarios for him to ever remember every single detail. He just made a mental note not to respond to anything with an actual answer. Smile. Nod. Listen. Like the perfect omega should.

Mike left after he was satisfied that Eren understood everything well enough. Eren sat down only long enough to realize how bad his head ached from all this information before someone else was coming into the room to whisk him away to another room of the house and another task.

His stylists met with him again after dinner, helping him make sure everything was on properly and every single strand of hair was immovably in place. After he was deemed ready, he was escorted to a car waiting for him outside the house. Unsurprisingly, his husband would not be driving with him even though he was technically supposed to be there _for_ Levi. His husband would meet him at the party. Whatever. Eren was almost used to this kind of treatment by now. He had walked into the event knowing that he and Levi would probably never interact throughout the entirety of the party and he had hit the mark exactly. It felt like he had talked to literally everyone at the event _except_ for his husband.

“Oh! So you’re Eren Jaeger. I’ve heard so much about you. You must tell me everything! What is the elusive Levi Ackerman like behind closed doors?”

“He works a lot mostly, very dedicated to his job.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Jaeger. I’ve heard wonderful things about your father’s work. Read a few of his papers. Tell me, what grand new venture is he studying next?”

“I’m not really involved in company affairs, but I would assume he’s still working on pharmaceuticals.”

“You know Eren, the rumors surrounding you are hard to ignore. What do you think about it all?”

“I try not to concern myself with those kinds of things.”

“I remember on my wedding night you could hardly keep me and my husband apart! Where did yours leave his claim? Mine was so obvious about it, I was so embarrassed.”

“Levi and I would rather keep our personal lives private.”

He hoped he made Mike proud with how he evaded so many uncomfortable questions. He met so many interesting individuals to say the least.

He met the lead researcher for the company: a _very interesting_ individual who excitedly introduced themselves as Hange Zoe. They bombarded him with so many questions he barely had a chance to process one before another was being asked. They also attempted to pull Eren’s clothes off enough to catch a glimpse of his bond marks, Eren feeling terrified the entire time that the fact he didn’t have one would be discovered at any moment. Eren just barely fended the hyper-energetic beta off, but thankfully their attention was grabbed by something else before they were able to remove any of Eren’s clothes.

“We must meet again sometime, Eren, perhaps in my laboratory next time. Omega biology is just so fascinating!”

“Right…”

Eren decided he never wanted to be alone in Hange Zoe’s laboratory ever.

But perhaps the most notable person he met that night that no amount of planning could’ve prepared him for was when the Queen herself came running up to him. She might’ve been a “Queen” only in name because of her noble bloodline but Eren had never expected to actually be face to face with Historia Reiss, herself.

“I’m so glad there’s someone my age here for once,” she complained. “There’s too many old men in politics.”

They had gotten along fantastically and Eren had actually spent the majority of the night in her presence. After he’d gotten over his initial shock and her utterly terrifying personal bodyguard—who had been introduced as Ymir—decided that he wasn’t a threat, their conversation actually flowed naturally as if he were talking to any number of his friends. She eventually excused herself however when other important looking people came looking for her company, but she had asked if they could spend more time with each other in a less formal setting, to which Eren eagerly agreed.

So here Eren was now, trying his best to hide in the corner of this grand ballroom at an empty table so that he could relax however slightly before someone else came looking for a chat.

He scanned the room, swirling a barely touched glass of champagne he had grabbed on the way over here. His eyes landed on none other than his husband, seated at a different table across the dance floor, looking utterly bored all by himself. Eren had caught glimpses of him throughout the night, chatting idly with a variety of people with an almost indifferent expression on his face. He really didn’t strike Eren as a party person… or much of a people person for that matter. The thought to join him crossed his mind but was quickly forgotten as he overheard a nearby conversation.

“Come on, you’ve gotta dance with me _once_ after dragging me through all those boring business conversations.”

“I suppose that’s only fair.”

He… knew those voices. Quickly turning around in his seat, he nearly forgot where he was in his shock.

“Armin?!”

His closest friend whipped around at the call of his name, looking just as surprised to see Eren as Eren was him. Even more surprisingly, Eren decided, was that Erwin from Levi’s offices stood next to Armin, holding his hand even.

“Eren? What are you doing here?”

“Me? What are _you_ doing here?”

“Erwin, uhh… my boyfriend, invited me,” Armin explained shyly.

Well that was new. Everyone had suspected Armin had found someone lately; the blonde was constantly smiling stupidly at his phone but would never let anyone see what it was that made him smile. It was only a matter of time before the blood told them. Eren had never expected to find out like this though…

“We’ve met,” Eren explained. Erwin nodded looking guilty for reasons Eren could fathom while Armin just looked confused. “Erwin is my husband’s assistant.”

A mixture of emotions played across Armin’s face. Confusion, surprise, and then contempt as he turned and playfully hit Erwin’s arm.

“How come you never told me that’s where you worked?” Armin asked.

“I didn’t know how to bring it up… Especially after you mentioned you were friends with Mr. Jaeger,” Erwin explained.

“Now you really owe me a dance.”

Erwin rolled his eyes playfully but smiled happily down at the blonde on his arm regardless. Eren couldn’t help but feel a little jealous.

“How come you haven’t told anyone you started dating again?” Eren asked, swallowing the knot in his throat.

“I didn’t want to worry any of you,” Armin explained. “I was planning on doing it soon anyway…”

“If you’re happy, then you know we’re going to be happy for you too,” Eren smiled and Armin hadn’t looked happier as he beamed back at him.

“I appreciate that, Eren.”

And then Armin was pulling Erwin onto the dance floor just as the live orchestra started up a slow waltz-like ballad. He watched them for a moment as Erwin pulled Armin close and looked down at him with such a delicate expression. Armin looked completely at ease in his arms as they swayed to the music, bursting into loud laughter whenever one of them stepped on the other’s toes.

Eren suddenly felt very tired.

He wanted to go home.

Without a second thought, he stood up from his chair, leaving his champagne glass behind on the table. He made his way around the outside of the room to the table his husband still occupied. Levi noticed his approach, an eyebrow cocking in a silent question.

“I’m leaving,” Eren informed him. Levi’s expression didn’t change.

“Not one for parties?” The man asked.

“Neither are you,” Eren countered. His husband cracked the smallest of smiles at that.

“Fair enough.” He took a swig of his drink. “I have to stay here longer.”

“I’m sure you’ll survive.”

Another almost-smile.

“Goodnight, Eren.”

“Goodnight.”

And then he left the venue for home alone, the same way he had arrived, trying his best to keep envious thoughts of his best friend’s newfound happiness as far out of his mind as possible.

He wasn’t very successful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> Follow me on Twitter if you wanna! @AAvery151


	4. In the Heat of the Moment

The small, adorable little toddler ran at Eren’s open arms, laughing and squealing happily as Eren hugged him close.

“How come he never runs at me like that,” Mikasa pouted, watching Eren play with the small child as if he was his own. Eren couldn’t be happier. All his worries instantly vanished whenever he got the chance to be around Marco and Jean’s adorable bundle of joy, Mikhail. The child giggled happily as Eren hugged him close, a large smile on his face.

“Because I’m his favorite uncle,” Eren teased, laughing as Mikhail grabbed onto his scarf and pulled it off far enough to play with.

“Isn’t that the truth,” Jean scoffed, looking positively exhausted. “Whenever Eren’s here, he’s a perfect angel.”

Jean elbowed Marco next to him—who had begun to snore quietly—he perked up immediately.

“Wha—? Yeah, you’re right, darling,” Marco said automatically. Eren doubted he actually knew what he was agreeing to and it was just an instinct to agree with Jean at this point.

“Rough couple weeks?” Armin snickered, walking back into the living room from where he had been getting a drink in the kitchen.

“Like you won’t believe,” Marco yawned, throwing a lazy arm around Jean, and pulling his mate closer. Eren looked away from such a display of affection, feeling envious of his friends’ close bond and clearly loving relationship.

“He’s reverse-cycling,” Jean whined. “I haven’t been able to get a full night’s sleep for days.”

“See, Sasha, this is why we’d be terrible parents,” Connie piped up. “You don’t hear anything once you’re asleep and I’m a nightmare on no sleep.”

“You’re being dramatic,” Sasha argued right back.

“We should start with a dog…”

Eren let the conversation around him become background noise as he watched Mikhail focus so intently on his scarf and mumble incoherent babble. He always had been just a bit jealous of his friends’ relationships. He loved them and of course he was happy for them and would never wish anything different for them, but he couldn’t help being a bit envious. Especially now that he had his own spouse… loneliness began to sink in once more. Even amongst his friends now. Eren had always wanted children—always imagining a couple when he fantasized about an imaginary future. His husband now hardly ever talked to him, so he had little hope of ever achieving what he had always hoped would become his future.

His sudden drop in mood was quickly picked up on by his friends. Everyone else in the room was on scent inhibitors whereas Eren was not by request of the Ackerman’s lawyer almost three months ago. So, he was sure they all smelled his mood clearly.

“Things still bad on your end, Eren?” Sasha was the first to ask, changing the topic of conversation. It took Eren a moment to understand what he was being asked.

“Oh… Well… You know,” he started. He didn’t want to unload all his problems on his friends again, especially since they all had their own issues to deal with. This was supposed to be a fun get together, not a “let’s all listen to Eren complain” get together. “It’s pretty much the same.”

“You’re allowed to talk about it, you know,” Marco said in between a yawn.

“You know him,” Jean laughed. “He doesn’t like to complain unless he’s told to do so.”

“Oh haha,” Eren laughed sarcastically, knowing full well he could be a bit of a drama queen when it came to certain things. But his situation now… it wasn’t exactly trivial, and he had already complained so much to each of his friends; he felt bad even bringing it up anymore. They didn’t need to drown in Eren’s loneliness too. “I just would rather not bring it up so much…”

“You listen to all our problems, so we’re here for you too,” Mikasa scolded, that protective fire behind her eyes.

“Nothing’s really changed,” Eren started hesitantly. He wanted to lean on his friends, to depend on them for support as they had done on him in the past, but he was still going to be careful not to just dump all his problems on them. “He still ignores me for the most part…”

“It’s been what, two months now?” Marco asked. “Since your wedding?”

Eren nodded, fixing his scarf self-consciously from where Mikhail had pulled it off. The toddler was much more interested in his shoelaces now anyway.

“I think at some point you’ve just gotta step up and talk to him first, don’t you think?” Armin asked.

“I tried last week… I made lunch for the two of us, but he was too busy with his work,” Eren explained.

“Oh I see,” Connie laughed. “That’s why you visited us at work then. You didn’t even mention it then, though.”

“I mean, it’s partly my fault it didn’t work out, though,” Eren tried to rationalize. “I should’ve called first before going all the way down there…”

“Even so, you’d think he’d talk to you to reschedule later or something,” Armin added in. “Has he?”

Eren shook his head again, eyes trained on the ground.

“What a jerk!” Sasha whined. “Should’ve known someone that attractive would have a shit personality.”

“For real though,” Jean said with an eyeroll and another yawn. “Have you considered approaching him at home? Tell him what you’re thinking?”

“I have thought about it,” Eren admitted. “But he always gets home so late and on weekends he locks himself up in his home office all day long. Whenever we do talk it feels like he’s scared of me or something.”

“There will always be a million different reasons not to do something,” Armin nodded in understanding. “I know this probably isn’t what you want to hear but you’ve got to talk to him. Sort this out, speak your mind because you deserve to be treated better than this.”

“Even if he doesn’t have time,” Connie agreed. “He better well fucking make time for his gorgeous husband.”

“I know,” Eren agreed, smiling at Connie’s wording.

“You can always invite him to hang out with us too, you know. For moral support,” Mikasa said. Though Eren had a feeling she had an ulterior motive offering that.

“Funny you should say that. I actually texted him earlier in the day, invited him to dinner with us tonight.”

“Nothing then?” Marco asked sadly.

“I’m sorry, Eren,” Sasha cooed, launching herself off the couch and onto the floor to hug Eren tightly. Mikhail squealed happily at the sudden movements and quickly joined in on the hug. Eren felt a surge of affection towards the both of them.

“It’s not your fault,” Eren laughed.

“Yeah, but it still sucks.”

“I know…”

“You need to talk to him,” Armin said finitely in such a way it made Eren want to believe that this solution would solve all his problems. Armin always had been the smartest out of the two of them… maybe this _would_ be the solution to all his problems.

“I’ll try…”

Eren went home soon after that. Jean made him put Mikhail to bed before he left, though. He’d always had a knack for it. He’d carry around small children for a bit and they’d pass out on his shoulder in no time. Everyone always told him he’d make a great father someday… He had little hope of that anymore, but if his potential could be used to help his sleep-deprived friends get some much-needed rest, then he’d gladly lend his shoulder. It also helped that Mikhail was just too adorable to ignore; he loved that child so much.

His ride home was uneventful if a little boring. He hadn’t been using a driver as of late and the car he’d chosen from his husband’s expensive collection was the least flashy of the bunch. He wanted to attract as little attention as possible and driving in expensive cars with a chauffeur definitely did exactly the opposite of that. The media still hadn’t calmed down since the wedding; apparently it was a slow month for gossip. So, if he could avoid the cameras as much as possible, he wouldn’t be feeding the fires.

When he pulled up into the manor’s driveway, a young man immediately came up to his car. Putting it in park, he got out of the car and greeted him.

“Good evening, Mr. Jaeger. Enjoy your night?” He asked as Eren handed the keys off to him.

“Yeah, thanks Floch.”

The man waved and then left Eren’s presence to go park the car properly. With a sigh, Eren looked up at his home. He’d been living here for seven weeks now, another two days and it’d be a full two months, and yet it still didn’t feel like his home… He wondered if it ever would.

He noticed as he walked up the front steps that there were lights on in the house. It was rather early for his husband to be home… even as it approached midnight… Had he come home early? Eren unlocked the door and stepped inside the house. Before he could even close the door behind himself, he was aware that someone was watching him. Looking up, he found Levi leaning against the doorway he knew led to the library. It felt entirely reminiscent of that night a whole month ago, except now the roles were reversed and Eren was pretty sure he hadn’t done anything wrong.

“Hey…? Eren started stupidly, unsure of what exactly was going on. He stepped further into the foyer, closing the front door as he went. With the door closed, Eren was suddenly very aware of the scent the other man was giving off. He wasn’t entirely sure he was identifying it properly, however, because as far as he could tell, Levi was _worried_. Eren suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to rush forward and console the man, rid him of such a feeling. But he resisted the sudden confusing need. He’d been around worried alphas before—living with Mikasa had pretty much made it a constant—but he hadn’t reacted like this back then. He didn’t understand what was happening.

“You’re—” Levi stopped himself, clearing his throat before starting again. “You’re back.”

“Yeah?” Eren asked more than said. He took his jacket off, hanging it up before beginning to take his shoes off. He was beginning to feel a little warm, so he pulled his scarf off as well.

“It’s late…”

“I was out with my friends, sorry for worrying you,” Eren said, feeling a little annoyed Levi of all people decided to lecture him about how late he was coming home. But that also confirmed what Eren had thought too; Levi _hadn’t_ seen his text message. He found that he really wasn’t all that surprised. He was used to this disappointment by now, as sad and lonely as that was.

“No… it’s okay,” Levi said quickly. He looked away from Eren, taking a deep breath and rubbing at the back of his neck. “Not your fault… I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Yeah…” How awkward. He remembered what Armin had suggested he do but he didn’t know how to start right in this moment. Plus, he wasn’t sure he was in the right mindset to really have an intellectual conversation right now. The man’s scent was… overwhelming. He suddenly felt very hot.

He’d try tomorrow then. He was just tired right now. That had to be it. Tired. It was late, after all.

“Well… Goodnight then, its late,” Eren said quietly and perhaps a bit too quickly.

“Yeah,” Levi agreed. “Goodnight.”

Eren nodded in his direction, trying his best to avoid breathing through his nose. He didn’t think anything like this had ever happened before.

“Are you… Are you okay?” Levi asked suddenly, looking all sorts of worried and confused once again. He took a hesitant step towards him, reaching out a hand to feel Eren’s forehead. “You look like you have a fever.”

The second Levi’s hand made contact with his skin, Eren felt a jolt of what he could only describe as pure _electricity_ go through him in an instant. Suddenly, he understood exactly what was happening.

With a yelp of surprise, Eren jumped away from Levi. He tried to run away from the situation, but his legs gave out from underneath him, every fiber of his being wanting him to stay.

“Oh shit, Are you okay?” Levi exclaimed, clearly not understanding the dilemma they were in. He instantly followed after him, kneeling down on the ground. Eren froze in place, stuck between submitting instantly and running away, as Levi reached out to him once more. “You’re burning up… What—”

As Levi touched him again; a completely innocent touch as he was trying to figure out what was happening; Eren couldn’t help but practically whimper at the contact and lean into his touch. Now it was Levi’s turn to freeze in place. He took a deep breath, taking in Eren’s scent and finally understanding. Eren had practically forgotten something like this could happen. He’d been on medications for so long… but it had been almost three months exactly since he’d stopped taking them. Guess he could always count on biology to be timely.

In an instant, faster than Eren even understood what was happening, Levi was lunging at him, tackling him to the ground so that he was laying on his back. He hovered over him, pupils blown wide as he looked down at Eren with a look of absolute hunger. Eren had seen a preview of this look before, back on his wedding night when Levi had held himself back, but now… now there were no filters. Red glinted in the man’s eyes; anything that had been holding him back before was gone in an instant. Eren going into heat had caused his normally cold and aloof husband to snap completely.

Eren was utterly terrified for two reasons. One: his husband was going to have his way with him in the middle of the foyer and two: he wanted it so badly that what little clear mindedness he had left was quickly disappearing and beginning to agree with the lust.

Levi moved closer, burying his face into Eren’s neck, and nuzzling his nose right against the spot where Eren’s scent was the strongest. Eren shivered at the feeling of the man’s breath on his sensitive neck. Instinctively, he tilted his head to give Levi as much access as possible, submitting completely despite every rational part of his brain screaming at him to stop.

“L-Levi,” he whined quietly.

A switch was suddenly flipped in the other direction.

Not a second later, Levi was ripping himself away from Eren’s neck, slapping a hand over his mouth and nose, and flinging himself backwards off and away from Eren, eyes wide with realization and face flushed a bright red in embarrassment. He looked utterly horrified by his previous actions. A small part of Eren felt relieved but a much more dominant part felt utterly betrayed. His alpha wasn’t going to help him? Was there really something that wrong with him?

“You’re…” Levi tried to say. “You’re in…”

Eren pulled himself off the floor as much as he could, reaching out after Levi.

“W-wait… Please.” He didn’t even understand what he was asking for. He just wanted Levi to come back, to touch him, help him figure this out. It’d been five years since he’d last experienced a heat, and it had _never_ felt like this before that he could remember. He didn’t know what was happening. Even if nothing of a sexual nature happened, he just wanted someone to help him figure out what could be done to alleviate this utter pain that was surely going to only get worse in the coming days.

He wanted… no, he _needed_ Levi to touch him and that absolutely terrified him. What little rationale he had left wanted him to run away; run away and lock himself in his room for the week-long hell he was about to endure. But he couldn’t. He just wanted Levi.

“I’m sorry,” Levi said quickly, getting up off the ground just as fast. He backed away from Eren, looking just as conflicted as Eren felt.

“I’m sorry,” he said again, and then he was running from the room, leaving Eren alone in the foyer, unable to do anything but sit and watch hopelessly.

~*~

To say Eren was upset would be one of the biggest understatements of his life. He was absolutely _livid_ by the way his first heat in almost five years had turned out and even that didn’t begin to describe all the feelings that had been growing and festering after all this time.

Were his emotions all a little out of whack, and therefore a bit over-exaggerated, because of his heat?

Probably.

Did he care?

Not at all.

These emotions had been building for the past month since he got his engagement notification. This overflow was bound to happen, it just took a hormone dump even worse than when he had first presented to fill the cup over the edge. To be fair, he should’ve expected such a strong reaction from his body. His heat had been repressed for almost five years and there were always side effects to coming off even the best suppressant medications on the market. It might not have been so bad had his husband done literally _anything_ to offer support, but through the entirety of the worst parts of it all, his husband made no appearance, not even to check if he was okay.

What confused and frustrated Eren the most was his husband’s initial reaction when everything started. He was clearly attracted to Eren; enough so to jump him and almost go as far as scent marking him and losing control completely. But he’d stopped himself, like their wedding night all over again. Why, was completely lost on Eren. Sure, he was glad his husband hadn’t forced himself upon him but if he had enough self-control to run away then _surely,_ he had enough to check in on him later.

The first three days had been the worst of it. He’d barely been able to stay out of his bathtub long enough to dry completely before feeling overwhelmingly hot once more. He could hardly get the water cold enough to give him any sort of relief, either. Thankfully, the household staff had understood perfectly why he was asking for lots of ice to be brought up to his bathroom without being outright told, and none of them even attempted to pry into what was happening. They could probably smell what the answer was anyway. He really appreciated the butler, Dot as he had finally learned was his name, who seemed to know exactly what needed to be done to help alleviate Eren’s symptoms. He supposed that it was his job to know such things but nonetheless, it made Eren feel like at least someone cared.

“Armin, I’ve never felt anything like this before, I don’t know what’s happening…” Eren said through his phone during a brief period where he could think straight.

“Well, that’s what happens when you quit inhibitors cold turkey,” Armin sighed with a bitter chuckle. “And your husband?”

“He ran away from me when he realized what was going on. I haven’t seen him since yesterday. He’s probably avoiding me.”

“I’m so sorry, Eren… I can’t even imagine,” Armin said. “I went off suppressants last month and the last thing Erwin wanted to do was run—”

“You can stop right there,” Eren stopped him, cringing and pushing those thoughts as far out of his head as possible.

“Sorry, sorry, I was just trying to… Well, I don’t know. Distract you, I guess.”

“I appreciate it. Thanks for talking to me… I know it’s late and you’ve got work tomorrow…”

“Don’t even mention it,” Armin chastised. “I’ve begged you to call me more, remember?”

“How could I forget?”

At least Armin cared because at this point, he was quite confident in the fact that his husband was almost completely apathetic towards anything to do with him.

From the fourth day and on, it was at least bearable. Eren could take care of himself through the worst of it instead of suffering through never-ending lust in his freezing cold bathtub all by himself. He could walk around again without his knees giving out and could actually get and keep food down, so he called that progress. That was when his emotions began to run wild. In the beginning, Eren could hardly think around the constant need for someone—more specifically Levi—to fuck him. He didn’t even want to think about what the specific need for a singular person actually meant—he couldn’t remember ever lusting after a specific person before during any of his previous heats, even when he’d had a significant other—but he had a dreadfully sneaking suspicion as to what the reason was. Now, however, he could think about what his situation was again and oh boy, did he work himself into a tizzy.

Armin had been right after all. He needed to talk to his husband. It was a long time coming and finally he was going to speak his mind.

It was a Wednesday afternoon, five days into his heat, that he decided enough was enough. Instead of going to his usual spot in the library after dinner—or as of this past week, holing up in his bathroom—Eren decided he would sit and wait very patiently for his husband to arrive home in the dining room of the manor. He knew his husband would have to come through here at some point to get the dinner that he’d definitely skipped while he was working so Eren was fairly confident that eventually, Levi would make an appearance. He sat comfortably, chair propped up on two legs as he leaned back, his own legs propped up on the expensive oak table. He felt a little disrespectful towards the staff for doing so but none of them had asked him to stop so he kept on reclining. He’d also opened a rather pricy bottle of wine to enjoy while he waited. He knew he was perhaps being a bit over-dramatic and a lot of the blame rested on himself as well for not speaking up sooner but, by this point, he was far too angry to care. He was still in heat; although it had calmed down significantly, he could still feel his hormones raging and the ever-present uncomfortable itch for anything sexual lingering just beneath the surface of his skin, making him feel constantly and unpleasantly warm. Yes, he was being dramatic, but in his mind, he had every right to be.

It was around two in the morning when Eren’s heightened senses picked up on Levi’s arrival. He could smell him very clearly; a scent that made the heat simmering just beneath the surface of his skin threaten to start boiling again. Eren ignored such feelings, his anger far outweighing his lust for the very same man. Had he decided to do this earlier in the week however, it would have probably ended a lot differently and definitely not at all how Eren planned.

When Levi entered the dining room, he instantly froze, looking terrified, confused, and shocked all within the span of three seconds. He settled on absolutely terrified as he not so subtly brought a hand up to cover his nose. Perhaps he should’ve done something more to neutralize his scent so this conversation would be easier for the both of them, but it was far too late for that now. Levi could suffer a bit after forcing Eren to suffer for four days all by himself without once checking on him.

“Ah, hello,” Levi started awkwardly, shuffling into the room. He made a wide birth about Eren, careful to leave distance between the two of them, almost as if he didn’t trust himself. Eren didn’t really trust himself either, but he had to stay strong. He needed to get this all off his chest. “Are you… Are you feeling better?”

“So now you’re concerned?” Eren scoffed, taking one final swig of his wine, finishing off the glass. He set it down on the table with a resounding clink. “I’m fine, no thanks to you.”

Levi didn’t say anything for a moment. He opened his mouth as if to say something but quickly decided against it, closing his mouth, and looking ashamedly down at the ground.

“You could’ve at least checked in on me,” Eren started. He tried to sound calm, but anger was quickly slipping through. “I didn’t expect you to do anything since we haven’t ever really talked before, but some support would have been nice. You’re the one who requested I go off heat suppressants in the first place and we are married in case you’ve forgotten.”

“I haven’t forgotten,” Levi mumbled. He still wouldn’t look up at Eren, whether that was because he was ashamed of himself or because he just didn’t want to be having this conversation, Eren was unsure. Either way, it didn’t make him feel any better. “How could I forget?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eren asked, feeling rather affronted. Was he really such a nuisance? Maybe his husband hadn’t meant it that way but that’s certainly the way Eren was taking it. “Oh I get it, I’m just one big problem for you, aren’t I?”

“That’s not what I—”

“Not what you meant? Oh sure, but how are you going to explain how our relationship has worked for the past month, then? You’ve said maybe a total of twenty words to me and only _once_ have you ever used my name.”

If Levi was going to say anything in response, Eren didn’t even give him the chance. He was just going to let it all flow out now, there was no more holding back at this point. He stood up from where he was sitting as his voice got louder and more emotional.

“Why did you even arrange to marry me if this was how we’d interact with each other?” Eren began again. He really wasn’t expecting an answer, so he continued. “I actually would’ve preferred if you had just outright told me that you only married me for my father’s research because at least then I wouldn’t be left wondering if there was something wrong with me.

“I get that you didn’t want to force yourself on me and I thought that was a really nice sentiment but _talking_ to me and _fucking_ me are two _totally_ different things! I would’ve appreciated some sort of contact especially after you force me to go off inhibitors and live in your goddamn house! It was absolutely torture since it’s been five years since my last heat. And it was made even worse because your scent is _everywhere_ and I’m pretty sure I fucking _imprinted_ on you after being surrounded by it all the damn time!”

“You what—?” Levi started, looking completely heartbroken. Eren ignored the need to rush forward and comfort him, to apologize for making his alpha so upset. “I’m so—”

“You’re what? Sorry? I think it’s a little late for that. Something, literally anything would’ve been appreciated, just so I knew all those stupid fucking rumors weren’t true!

“Do you know what everyone says about me? What they all think because we haven’t bonded officially after two whole months?”

Levi didn’t say anything.

“They think I’ve blackmailed you into marrying me, that I’m some horrible person who stole the handsome billionaire all for himself, that I’m some sort of prude who won’t let you touch me or exactly the opposite, that I’m some sort of whore only after your money who won’t seriously commit. That there’s something obviously wrong with me. I’m too tall, too skinny, I’m not handsome enough, I’m not pretty, I’m too loud, too naïve, too stupid, too hopeless!” Perhaps some of Eren’s own insecurities slipped in there too but it didn’t matter; someone somewhere had almost definitely said it about him anyway. He got his point across.

“So take your fucking pick of which one is the truth because I can’t take it anymore!” Eren shouted, his voice cracking over the words. He ripped off the engagement ring he still kept on his finger—he would’ve taken the wedding ring off too, but it had been thoroughly stuck on his finger for the past week and a half—and threw it harshly at his husband. He didn’t even wait to see Levi’s reaction to his words; he stormed out of the room. His vision clouded with tears as he left his husband alone, grabbed some of his things, and left the house entirely with no idea where he was going other than as far as he could get from there.

~*~

“Yes, I understand, Jean,” Eren sighed through the sentence with an eyeroll, adjusting the phone pressed to his ear. “It’s just milk, I think I can manage.”

Eren scanned the fridges, looking for the exact size, brand, and type Marco had specified. They had run out, but Mikhail would need some for breakfast the next morning or if he happened to wake up in the middle of the night. Eren had volunteered immediately to go out and get some; his friends had been so generous; it was the least he could do. They let him stay at their place yesterday after Eren had stormed out on his husband. He knew he couldn’t run forever; Levi had been trying to call him nonstop; but for now, he needed some time to himself to ride out the last few days of his heat. Let his hormones calm down and get his emotions in order once more before facing this sensitive topic.

Both Jean and Marco had been hesitant to let him leave the house, though. And apparently, Jean still wasn’t very confident seeing as not five minutes after Eren arrived at the convenience store, Jean had called him just to make sure he was still safe.

“No, I understand, and I know you can handle it…” Jean started through the phone. “It’s just that it’s late, and you’re still… You’re still practically in heat.”

“Are you actually worried about me?” Eren teased. He could practically feel Jean rolling his eyes through the phone. “I’ll be fine.”

“Now you say that but you’re not on scent inhibitors anymore… it’s pretty obvious to anyone walking by you.”

“Are you saying I stink?”

“Yes! You do! Like an unmated omega in heat all alone at night! It’s like begging to be attacked by some drunk asshole!” Jean shouted. Eren held the phone away from his ear until he was done.

“Holy shit, I was kidding,” Eren laughed, putting the phone back up to his ear. “Don’t you think you’re being overdramatic?”

“No, I’m not! I’m worried about you, asshole. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you… ugh I shouldn’t have let you go,” Jean whined.

“I’ll be fine,” Eren affirmed once more. “I should be home in another ten minutes.”

“If you’re not, I’m calling the police.”

“Alright,” Eren laughed.

“You think I’m kidding but I’m not,” Jean admonished. “If you hadn’t picked up the phone now, I would’ve called the police then, too.”

“I know, I know,” Eren agreed. “I’ll see you soon.”

“I better.”

Eren hung up the phone, putting it back in his pocket as he began the search once more for milk. He scanned each row of the fridges, giving each label a quick once over before he finally found what he was looking for. He grabbed the gallon jug of milk, figuring that more was better in this scenario until Jean and Marco could actually go shopping again, and made his way to the cashier. He paid for it using the debit card issued to him after his marriage. He felt a little guilty spending the man’s money when they were currently in the middle of a rather nasty fight but Eren didn’t have any money of his own anymore, there was no way he was going to spend the money Marco had given him, and he highly doubted that one gallon of milk was going to be even a blip in his husband’s finances. Sure, Levi would also be able to find out where he was because he used the debit card, but he didn’t really care. He doubted the man would come running over here at eleven o’clock at night just to talk to him about what had happened, especially on a weekday. Eren would be going back to him in a few days anyway to discuss what to do next.

As Eren waited for the receipt to print from his purchase, the cashier looked at him with an absolutely concerned expression. He wasn’t entirely sure why the young man was looking at him like that; if he recognized him or if he could smell the heat that still simmered just under his skin, he didn’t know. Perhaps it was a mixture of both.

“Rough night?” The man asked as the machine processed Eren’s debit card. Eren snorted.

“More like rough week.”

“I understand,” the man said. “Do you want me to call someone…? I could walk you home?”

“No, I’ll be okay,” Eren said with a smile. He appreciated the concern, he really did, but he was thoroughly convinced no one was going to mess with him.

“Just… Uhh, just be careful out there. Someone harassed my sister the other day. It’s been pretty bad for omegas on this side of town lately….”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.”

He smiled at him before taking his debit card back, grabbing his milk, and making his way out of the store.

What alpha would even want to try something with someone like him, anyway? People would probably get a sniff of him, take one look at him, and assume he was an alpha with an omega in heat at home. He was far enough into his heat that everything was starting to die down now anyway. He was sure he didn’t smell nearly strong enough to warrant anyone giving him a second glance regardless of what Jean had said. Sure, maybe in close quarters like with the store clerk people would notice, but no one would be getting that close to him on his walk home.

In hindsight, Eren definitely should’ve listened to his friends… maybe even accepted the store clerk’s offer after hearing how dangerous the streets in this area of town had been lately.

He was two blocks into his four block walk back to Jean’s place when perhaps the single most scary night of his life began. It started as just a simple catcall; he didn’t even react to it, automatically assuming whoever had whistled was doing so at someone else.

“Hey there gorgeous!” came a shout next. Eren turned to look at this one; it was loud enough to catch his attention and strange enough for him to be curious. He wanted to know what was happening considering how late it was at night. They couldn’t be talking to him, he was sure of it, but he was also pretty sure there weren’t a whole lot of people also walking around currently.

His thoughts were proven true when, after doing a quick look around, he was the only person currently walking down the street. He caught sight of the catcallers; they were standing just a short way in front of him, leaning against the entrance to an alleyway between two tall buildings. There were five of them in total, from what Eren could tell. Three men and two women, all of them alphas, _very_ drunk if the smell alone was anything to go by and were looking directly at him.

Eren averted his gaze upon realizing they were all staring back at him. He really did _not_ like the way being looked at like that made him feel. An uncomfortable shiver of disgust went up his spine, but he kept his eyes thoroughly trained on the ground. _They aren’t talking to you, they aren’t talking to you,_ he repeated over and over in his head in an attempt to keep calm. He thought about crossing the street to avoid them but if they were serious about harassing him, they would follow from this side of the street anyway. Jean and Marco’s apartment was on this side too, so eventually he’d have to cross back over.

He picked up his pace, ignoring the various calls for attention from all the members of the small group. Maybe if he didn’t bite, they’d leave him alone. Being harassed for being an omega was nothing new, he’d been dealing with that for months now. He could take a few drunk assholes trying to make a pass at him. _Just ignore them and keep walking_. That’s all he had to do. Nothing to it.

“Hey, you’re kinda rude, aren’t you?” One of them sneered, grabbing Eren harshly by his shoulder and pulling him backwards as he tried to walk past. Eren tried to keep walking. _Just ignore them and keep walking._ But he quickly found his path blocked by two of the others. He stopped in his tracks, recognizing the pheromones coming off the group and instantly wishing he had turned and ran when he first caught sight of them. This was not good. “We were talking to you. The least you could do is say something back. What kind of omega are you?”

“Please, I don’t want any trouble. I’m trying to get home… My friends’ kid needed milk,” Eren tried, backing away from the two alphas in front of him. He quickly discovered that he was surrounded on all sides, the group of five circling him closely.

“Now I don’t believe that. Do you believe that?” One of the men asked.

“I’m not buying it,” one of the women agreed. “Why would he come out while in heat if not to beg for someone to take care of him?”

“I’m not in heat anymore…” Eren said. He wasn’t very convincing in his lie, however. All the others sniggered.

“Could’ve fooled us.”

“So _omega,_ ever been fucked by five alphas in one night?”

“Nah, look at the size of him, I’d be surprised if anyone’s fucked this one.”

“I-I’m married,” Eren spoke up. “I have a—”

He raised his hand to show the ring on his finger, suddenly very glad that it had gotten stuck.

“A ring don’t mean anything, sweetheart,” another teased. “He’s clearly not treating you right, baby. Let us take care of you.”

“Let us show you how a real alpha treats his omega.”

The largest of the group, a man even taller than Eren, stepped closer to him, bringing a hand up to caress the side of his face. He shivered in disgust at the feeling, backing away from the man and hitting his hand away. Dropping his grocery bag, he wound up to punch the man in an attempt to escape but before he could even process what was happening, he was being dragged back into the alleyway and slammed up against the brick outer wall of a building harshly. His head smashed against the rough texture and his vision swam. Oh, this was so not good.

Drowsily, Eren kicked his legs out, desperately trying to push past whatever this feeling in his head was. Why was there two of everything? He thrashed roughly but quickly found his arms were pinned to the wall by two of the others. He kicked his leg out, connecting with something firm in front of him. A pained groan alerted him that he’d hit one of his attackers, but the group retaliated quickly. He was swiftly punched in the nose, knocking his head back into the wall again. Instead of seeing double now, Eren couldn’t see anything at all. His limbs felt heavy; he tried to fight. He could feel hands all over his body, hands that shouldn’t be there. His shirt was ripped open. Blood dripped from his nose and he swore he felt some running from the back of his head too.

He should’ve listened to Jean, to that clerk at the store. He was outnumbered… Was this… Was this really happening?

“Hey!” He heard an angry shout through the cloudiness in his head. “Get the fuck off him!”

Suddenly the alphas around him froze before they could go any further. They all turned to look at the entrance to the alleyway. Eren heard heavy footsteps coming closer; he caught a whiff of the newcomer’s scent… it couldn’t be… How did he find him?

“Who the hell are y—”

The man’s question got cut off when Eren’s savior landed a swift punch across the man’s face, sending him to the floor in an instant, out cold. Eren forced his eyes open, he had to know if it was true. He could hardly believe what he saw. For one, he was still seeing double but there was no mistaking it. His husband, Levi fucking Ackerman, stood over the alpha he had just punched out, looking absolutely murderous.

The two alphas that had been holding Eren’s arms against the wall let him go, leaving him to collapse to the pavement below and quickly backing away from him before running as fast as they could away from the scene. That left the three males, one of which was passed out on the ground.

Levi quickly turned his attention to Eren, running over to him and throwing himself to the ground, expression changing from one of rage to that of absolute worry.

“Are you okay? They didn’t… They didn’t…?” Levi could barely get the question out and Eren didn’t want to hear it put into words. He shook his head. Levi breathed a sigh of relief, quickly taking his jacket off and draping it over Eren’s shoulders to cover his exposed chest from the cold. He carefully wiped at the blood on Eren’s face with his sleeve, cleaning it up as best he could since the blood had thankfully already stopped. He helped him up next, maneuvering them so that Levi stood between him and the two remaining alphas still standing their ground, having gotten over their initial shock when the situation changed. Levi pulled him close for a moment, embracing him tightly as he buried his face in Eren’s neck. Eren tensed a little as he felt Levi’s lips brush across his neck, purposefully yet with gentle care. It took him a moment to realize what Levi had done after he pulled away and turned to face the attacking alphas. He’d scent marked him, forcing Eren to smell like him and only him for a short while. Couple that with the jacket he had draped across his bare upper half and any hint of his original scent was probably completely masked by Levi’s protective one.

Eren stayed close to Levi, all but latching onto the man’s arm for any sort of comfort. He pulled the jacket Levi had given him tighter around his shoulder’s, sinking into the man’s familiar and pleasant scent. His husband’s presence was comforting, despite everything wanting him to stay angry at the man, he couldn’t be happier to have him by his side in this moment.

“And just who the fuck do you think you are?” One of Eren’s attackers snarled, anger over having been denied what he had been expecting to get clear in his voice.

“Who do you think you are? Trying to claim another alpha’s husband?” Levi snarled right back. Eren had never seen so much emotion from the man… such protective behavior.

“Maybe you should actually claim your husband before someone better comes along,” the other added.

Levi’s expression grew darker and even Eren was scared now. Did his husband actually feel strongly enough about him to warrant this kind of possessiveness?

Levi lunged forward, taking a swing at the larger of the two alphas. Eren watched completely frozen, unsure of what, if anything, to do to help. The man’s fist connected with one of the alphas, but the blow wasn’t nearly enough to send this one to the ground; the attacker had blocked most of the force with his arms. The second alpha saw this as his opportunity, jumping into the fight. Levi wasn’t even phased, kicking one powerful leg out with all the grace of someone trained in self-defense and connecting harshly with the man’s torso. The alpha buckled over in pain and Levi turned his murderous expression back to the first. The alpha looked at him with wide eyes, terrified and hesitant to continue fighting. That did nothing to deter Levi, who at this point was so consumed with anger that Eren was sure he could kill a man if no one stopped him.

Eren rushed forward; Levi had won the fight; he didn’t need to continue. He grabbed his arm, stopping him from rushing head on once more at the two alphas. Levi jumped slightly at Eren’s touch, turning, and looking back at him. His expression softened ever so slightly when he met his eyes, his scent taking on a more pleasant and calm tone than it had moments before. Levi relaxed from his fighting stance, wrapping a protective arm around Eren’s waist instead.

“The police will be here in less than two minutes,” Levi said instead. “I suggest you start running.”

The two alphas looked at each other, then down at their unconscious friend. They both bolted in opposite directions, leaving the last one behind just as Eren began to hear police sirens getting closer. All the tension left Levi’s body once they were gone and he turned around to face Eren, pulling him close and hugging him in perhaps the tightest embrace of Eren’s life.

“I’m so… so sorry. I should’ve been here sooner…” He said, it almost came out as a sob. Eren hugged him back, basking in the comfort and safety he felt after the horror of what had just happened.

“How’d you find me?” Eren got out slowly. He definitely had a concussion; he hoped there was an ambulance with those police sirens.

“You used your debit car,” Levi whispered. “You weren’t picking up your phone, I didn’t know where you’d gone, and I just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong. I needed to talk to you. I… this isn’t the time to talk about everything…”

“You can give a summary.”

“I never meant for things to get this bad. I feel absolutely horrible about the way I’ve acted without even considering how you could be feeling… I want… I want to make this work,” Levi told him. He dug his hand into his pocket, fishing out the engagement ring Eren had thrown at him just last night. “Come back home with me… Let’s start over and I promise I will do everything I can to make this right.”

Eren let his words sink in for a moment, staying silent as he watched his husband fidget under his gaze. The man looked almost afraid that Eren would refuse his pleas and just walk away right then and there. But instead, Eren held out his left hand, and Levi looked at him completely shocked. Carefully, he slipped the ring back onto his ring finger next to the wedding band where it belonged.

“This doesn’t mean you’re forgiven, though.”

“A chance is all I ask.”

“This is your last one.”

“But you’ve got to talk to me too,” Levi added. “I can’t read your mind as much as I’d like to be able to, so if something’s wrong. You have to promise to tell me?”

“Yeah… I can do that…”

Levi nodded, giving him a shy, delicate kind of smile. Eren quite liked the way that expression looked on the man.

They left the alleyway together just as the police were pulling up, a new development to their relationship. For the first time in a while, Eren didn’t feel so hopelessly alone. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! All comments appreciated!


	5. Communication is Key

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this took a little longer to get out than usual, but hopefully the length makes up for it. Almost double a normal update <3

The car ride home that night was spent in a tense silence, hundreds of unspoken words getting stuck in both their throats. Eren had given his statement to the police after getting patched up by some paramedics. Levi had stayed by his side the entire time, refusing any sort of treatment of his own until he was thoroughly assured Eren was going to be just fine and no serious injury had been done. He definitely had a concussion and would end up sporting double black eyes by tomorrow, but it was nothing a little sleep and some relaxation couldn’t fix. Some of the tension visibly had left Levi’s body at that news. But even still, the man had glared at anyone who came too close unprompted or even looked in their direction too long. It was clear his protective side was on high alert and Eren had never expected such behavior from his husband. He might’ve been more unnerved and annoyed by it had he not still technically been going through his heat but as he was now, and after going through every horrifying thing that had happened tonight, he found the protectiveness to be comforting. Despite his stature, Eren had no doubt his husband could take down any threat that came at him, and that was a thought that calmed his already fried nerves. Not that this one incident erased the last few months—Eren was still pissed over everything—but there would be a better place and time to discuss what exactly their relationship was supposed to be.

After the police had taken their statements and Eren had calmed an extremely frantic Jean and Marco over the phone—he’d heard at least fifty “I told you so’s” from Jean—still wrapped in Levi’s jacket, Eren was allowed to leave the scene. Levi had asked him, his voice very gentle and quiet, if he wanted to go back to Jean’s apartment for the night, not even mentioning the manor though Eren could see the hope hiding in those usually oh-so cold and emotionless grey eyes.

“No,” Eren shook his head, green eyes meeting grey. “I want to go home.”

His response had been another small smile as the man held out his hand for Eren to take. Eren slid his into Levi’s, wedding bands and the green stones of Eren’s engagement ring sparkling in the red and blue flashing lights around them. Levi led him to his car, parked haphazardly down the block; it was clear he had left the vehicle in quite the hurry.

“How did you know I was in trouble?” Eren had asked.

Levi opened his mouth as if to answer his question but shut it again after a second, pausing before he opened the passenger side door for Eren.

“I… don’t know…” He decided slowly, clearly going through all his thoughts and feelings, trying to find a satisfactory answer. Eren watched him, curious. “I just had this… feeling… that something wasn’t right. I couldn’t shake it, no matter what I did. So, I had to find you. Even if it was nothing at all and I was overreacting, I had to see you for myself to know for sure.”

Eren didn’t know what to say in response to that so he stayed silent as he climbed into Levi’s expensive car and they began the drive to their home. Both of them knew the larger implications behind what such an admission were and neither of them felt they were in a position to truly talk about what they meant.

It wasn’t exactly uncommon for mated alpha/omega pairs to share almost a mental link with one another. A way for both people in the relationship to know if their significant other was in distress no matter how far apart, they were from each other. But Eren and Levi weren’t bonded; sure, Eren may have accidentally imprinted on the alpha but that wouldn’t have been the cause of Levi’s seemingly psychic understanding of Eren’s earlier impending danger. Unless of course, Levi had also imprinted on him. Which wasn’t entirely impossible, Eren supposed. He remembered Marco telling him that he could sometimes sense Jean’s mood even before they had officially bonded but from the way Marco explained it, it had never been quite so strong and wasn’t always entirely accurate. The only other real option was something Eren hadn’t thought about since his more naïve days as a child. It was more of a myth really; Eren hadn’t ever thought it could be real… but what a cruel twist of faith if it were…

Soulmates were supposed to be inexplicably drawn to one another. Were supposed to see each other and immediately know they had found their other half; their perfect partner for the rest of their lives and everything was just supposed to fall magically into place. That didn’t quite describe anything about Eren’s relationship with Levi. They hadn’t met by chance, against all odds. Their marriage was arranged for business purposes. Nothing had “fallen into place”. Levi had deliberately ignored Eren for _months_ and had even seemed mortified over the idea of mating with him at all. Far from the magical stories Eren had grown up with and had daydreamed about when he was younger. But there was no other explanation that Eren could think of that accounted for Levi’s feelings or why Eren had imprinted on the alpha without even realizing it for so long. From the stories Eren remembered, soulmates were pretty much bonded from the moment they first met. Not necessarily in the same way that actually physically bonded pairings were but a more emotional kind of way. It made sense and judging by Levi’s silence for the majority of the car ride, the same confusing thoughts were going through his head as well.

But clearly, neither of the wanted to outright discuss this theory so neither of them said anything. Instead, Eren did his best to put such thoughts out of his mind. One problem at a time. Soulmates or not, they had a lot of work to do and while Eren would accept some of the blame for their lack of communication, Levi would have to put in the effort to fix this as well if they wanted whatever this relationship was meant to be to work. So, surrounded by his husband’s comforting scent, Eren slowly drifted off to sleep as they drove through the dark to their home. And as he was starting to dose, he wasn’t so far gone to not feel the man silently grab his hand and hold onto it for the rest of the drive.

When Eren woke up again, he was a little surprised to find that for one, he was no longer in Levi’s car but rather his large, empty bed in the manor, and for two, that it was still dark outside. A quick, groggy look at his phone however had shown him that it was a whole new day and he’d been sleeping for almost eighteen hours by this point.

Eren groaned, throwing his phone across his bed as he flopped back against his pillows. He rubbed his forehead, pushing hair out of his face over and over again as he waited for his brain to catch up with his body. He wasn’t surprised he had slept for so long. He remembered he normally slept a lot after coming off his heat from all those years ago and all the stress he’d been going through as of late definitely did not help his hormone fluctuations, but even this had to be a new record. It probably had to do with his concussion too. Eren’s nose ached and subsequently both his eyes. He was sure he had a nasty double black eye by now. The back of his head throbbed from where he had been shoved into that brick alleyway, and the rest of his body ached in various spots where he’d been harshly grabbed or hit. A reminder of what had almost happened last night that Eren really hadn’t wanted.

He rolled over onto his side with great effort, sighing through the ache. He blinked into his darkened room, waiting for his eyes to adjust. He noticed first that his clothes had been changed at some point into something more comfortable for sleeping. He wasn’t sure who had done it and he appreciated the effort someone had gone through to make him feel more comfortable, but he couldn’t help but feel a little unnerved. He pushed those thoughts out of his head though as he noticed the bag and suitcase he had brought to Jean and Marco’s neatly placed next to the door. So, Levi had already sent for his stuff; that was a nice gesture, he supposed. Eren rolled onto his back once more, closing his eyes gently, trying to will away all the pain he was in.

His plan was to just go back to sleep and hope he woke up feeling better, but he knew he probably shouldn’t. His stomach grumbling finally convinced him to pull himself out of bed; he’d missed a few meals after all. He left the lights off as he maneuvered around his room, figuring bright lights would only make his headache worse. He found his phone first, slipping it into his pocket before going to use the restroom. He tied his hair back into a messy bun after washing his hands and then left back into the bedroom. He noticed a glass of water had been left on the nightstand next to the side of the bed he always slept on, as well as a bottle of painkillers. He quickly popped a few in his mouth before downing the entire glass that had been left for him, feeling better as the cool liquid settled in his stomach.

Then, slowly but surely, he made his way out of his room and into an equally dark hallway. Eren wondered briefly where his husband was; some hopeful part of him thought he might be home and waiting for him to wake up. A more cynical part of himself laughed at the thought. It was a Friday evening, a workday. Levi was probably still at his offices if Eren had to guess. Whatever. Not like they had discussed anything yet, anyway. The house was mostly dark and empty as was usual for this time of the night. All the staff that didn’t live on sight had already gone home and those that did have rooms within the manor were off duty by now.

So when Eren got closer to the kitchen and noticed that the light was on inside the room, he was rather surprised at first and then confused. The chef never stayed this late, and it was well past the time the other staff usually ate their dinners as well. It was even more confusing, however, because the closer he got, the more the smell of burnt food wafted through the air.

His confusion continued to grow as he opened the door to the kitchen and saw just who it was that was inside the room.

Levi stood at the stove, a large, wooden spoon in hand as he stared intensely down at a pot full of what was presumably the burning food. He was dressed as if he had been at his office earlier in the day but had been home for some time now. His jacket was nowhere to be seen, same for his tie and a few buttons were undone on his dress shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was a bit more ruffled than usual, as if the man had been running his hands through it a lot, breaking up the hair gel that usually kept it so perfectly in place. There was even a smudge of some sort of sauce on the man’s cheek and upon closer inspection, what looked like streaks of flour in his hair. Eren decided he looked a lot more approachable this way, softer… but not by much.

As soon as Eren took a step into the kitchen, Levi’s head snapped up, quick grey eyes instantly landing on Eren. He wasn’t sure what kind of reaction he was expecting from his husband, but it certainly wasn’t the mixture of emotions that played across his face so fast. Maybe Eren was having some sort of surreal concussion dream, that certainly would explain all the strange things happening around him. He pinched himself discreetly just to be sure.

Levi looked visibly surprised at first, eyes going a little wider before a more almost excited or happy expression took over but just as quickly a pang of embarrassment seemed to go through him, changing his scent ever so slightly to match the emotion when ultimately, he replaced it all with his usually guarded demeanor. Eren could still smell the hints of embarrassment and nervousness in his scent however, despite his best attempts to hide everything.

“Eren! You’re awake,” he said, turning off the stove and quickly removing the pan he had been staring down at moments before from off the heat, almost as if to try and hide whatever he was doing.

Eren didn’t say anything at first, watching Levi’s calm demeanor crumbled slowly the longer the silence stretched out.

“I was worried when I got home earlier that you were still asleep, but I didn’t want to wake you,” Levi continued when it became apparent Eren wasn’t going to say anything. “You found the water I left you?”

He pointed at the empty glass Eren carried with him.

“You took some painkillers, I hope?”

Instead of answering any of Levi’s questions, and perhaps out of his own slight nerves over this completely new territory, Eren completely changed the subject, flipping the conversation back towards Levi instead of himself.

“You’re burning your food, you know,” he said evenly.

Levi quirked an eyebrow at him, placing his hands on his waist as he turned to look back at the pan on the stove. He sighed in clear defeat, head dropping slightly.

“It seems I’m just as awful in the kitchen as ever,” he conceded. Eren let out a small breath of air in a laugh.

He didn’t say anything as he walked further into the kitchen. He placed his glass in the sink and then grabbed the wash towel he knew was kept in the cabinet under the sink. He wet it with warm water before turning to his husband once more. Levi was watching him very carefully with a curious gaze. The look turned to confusion as Eren held out the cloth for him to take.

“You have sauce on your face,” Eren explained with a teasing lilt to his voice. Levi took the cloth wordlessly, quickly averting his eyes as a faint red dusted his cheeks.

Eren looked into the pan Levi had been using while the man cleaned up. He… really wasn’t sure what Levi had been trying to make. All he knew was that it probably wasn’t supposed to be a deep brown color or bubbling the way it was. He scrunched his nose up at the burnt smell it was clearly giving off, so overwhelming that Eren couldn’t discern ay other smells coming from it. It reminded him of all the times Jean had tried to cook for them when everyone decided they were too tired to go out for something.

“It was supposed to be one of my mother’s recipes,” Levi grimaced when he saw Eren’s reaction to the food. “Never did quite figure out how to actually make it myself.”

Eren noticed a small notecard carefully placed away from all the mess. The front side was written in what Eren could only guess was French, handwritten in black ink, small and neat. On the back, someone had translated the recipe into English with a much more elegant hand, the letters spiderlike and swooping. Vegetable ragout, the title read. Definitely not what had been in that pan.

“Would you like help?” Eren asked, reading through the instructions. Eren had never made ragout before but the instructions seemed simple enough. He needed something to eat anyway.

Levi’s eyes snapped back to him at the question, clearly not expecting the offer.

“Are you sure?” He asked. But that didn’t seem to be the only thing Levi was asking him. Eren remembered that cryptic advice Dot had given him all those weeks ago on his wedding night. _Sometimes what he doesn’t say is just as important as what he does_. Suddenly, it made a bit more sense. Levi was asking him if he actually wanted to talk about the last few months now, not just if he actually wanted to help him cook or not. He looked over at his husband, meeting his eyes as he decided that discussion could wait just a bit longer.

“Yeah,” Eren agreed, setting the notecard down and grabbing the pan on the stove. He poured its contents in the trash before placing the pan in the sink. He turned back to his husband with that out of the way and offered him the brightest smile he could muster feeling the way he did. “Doesn’t look so hard and I’ve never had ragout before.”

Levi’s eyes softened, and he chuckled quietly.

“Alright,” he agreed, a small smile settling on his lips. “Tell me what I should do.”

Eren pulled out an array of vegetables from the fridge or the extensive pantry that the kitchen had to offer and handed them over to Levi, along with a cutting board and a knife. He figured dicing vegetables was hard to mess up, even if Levi didn’t know exactly the proper way to do it. Levi looked apprehensively at the ingredients around him and the knife in his hand.

“You just have to dice everything into bite sized shapes,” Eren explained.

“I think I can manage that,” he agreed, flipping the knife around in his hand as if it were second nature to hold a blade and got to work. Eren had been worried handing off such a sharp object to someone inexperienced in cutting food but his worries vanished when he saw, much to his surprise, how deftly Levi handled the knife. With Levi cutting vegetables, Eren got to work starting on the soup stock and a tomato paste that the recipe called for.

Both men were quiet as they worked and even if Eren wanted to start up a conversation, which he didn’t have a particular inclination for at the moment, he wasn’t even sure what they could possibly talk about. Levi was silent for a time as well but eventually; he broke the tense silence.

“Do you do a lot of cooking?”

Eren clicked on the gas stove once more, the flames bursting to life.

“I used to help my mom with family meals all the time when I lived with my parents.”

Levi hummed in acknowledgement, the sound of his knife hitting the cutting board echoing around the room. Eren placed the pot with his broth over the flame, dropping the vegetables Levi had finished cutting in it before going in search of the spices that he would need next.

“I take it you didn’t cook much with your mom?” Eren asked, figuring that talking was better than sitting in an awkward silence. The cutting stopped for a second as Eren finished his question. He glanced over at the man, but his back was facing him so Eren couldn’t see his expression. The shift in his scent was enough to clue him in, however.

“My mother died when I was young,” Levi said evenly, the cutting resuming promptly.

“Oh.” Eren had known Levi’s parents had died a while ago from all those gossip blogs he hated so much. What a stupid question for him to ask. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“I know,” Levi stopped him, turning to look towards him finally. His expression was blank, but not harsh. He gestured to all the finished vegetables. Eren took them and scooped them into the pot along with the rest. He handed Levi cloves of garlic to mince next. “But before she died, she’d make this all the time. It was cheap and easy as she always said,” he elaborated, his tone lighter than before. “Its one of the only recipes she wrote down.”

All those years and Levi had kept this tiny notecard with neatly written and small French instructions; Eren thought it was cute. Levi really hadn’t struck him as the kind of guy to be so sentimental but supposed he really didn’t know the guy very well to begin with, only the rumors he’d read and heard about.

He started mixing up the tomato paste he would need later as he asked:

“Do you speak French?”

“I do,” he answered. Eren probably figured he did but he wasn’t sure what else to say to continue the conversation. Thankfully, Levi went on to add: “And eight other languages.”

“Eight _other_ languages?!” Eren asked incredulously, a lot louder than he meant to. He hadn’t been expecting that. “Is that including English?”

“Uhh no.” He sounded a little unsure of himself. As if he were embarrassed by this conversation.

“So that’s…” Eren stopped for a second just to make sure he had done his math correctly. “Ten languages?!”

“Not fluently in all ten but enough to get by during business conversations and small talk…”

Eren somehow felt like the guy was grossly underrepresenting his skills but even that was still impressive.

“My mom tried to teach me German when I was younger,” he said, saying whatever came to mind so that he could keep the conversation going. “But I hardly ever paid attention, so she gave up years ago. _Ten Languages?_ Holy shit.”

Levi chuckled, a deep noise that echoed pleasantly in Eren’s ears.

“It gets easier the more you learn,” he said. “Though to get started it does take a certain amount of… patience.”

His tone was a teasing one and Eren rolled his eyes. He turned around, taking his spoon with him to point accusatorily at Levi as he said:

“Hey now, are you trying to—” and then he stopped dead in his tracks. He hadn’t heard Levi move closer to him, cutting board with minced garlic in hand. But as Eren turned around, his spoon grazed the man’s cheek, leaving a streak of bright red tomato paste in its wake. Eren froze and Levi looked surprised for half a second, before it went blank once again.

Just when everything was getting better, the conversation less forced than before, Eren had to go and literally make a mess of everything. He remembered the one rule he’d been given when he moved in: keep everything clean because the master of the house was a bit of a neat freak.

“Oh shit,” Eren mumbled. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to. I didn’t know you were there. I—”

Levi didn’t say anything, silently placing the cutting board on the counter next to where Eren had been working. Eren continued to babble out an apology, trying his best to salvage what little development they had managed to make.

“It’s alright,” Levi said suddenly, voice even and calm as he cut off Eren’s rambling apology. He didn’t turn to face Eren as he wiped a bit of the paste off with his thumb. Eren waited for a tense second as Levi looked at the food now smudged on his finger as well. He smirked for half a second before launching his counterattack. Eren was shocked into silence again as Levi moved so fast turning towards him, reaching out, and smearing the sauce onto his nose. “Now we’re even.”

Eren looked at his nose cross-eyed for a second as what just happened sunk in. Levi went back about his business in the kitchen—or at least pretended to know what he was doing—the picture of innocence on his face.

Alright, Eren decided.

Two could play at this game.

As calmly as he could without giving up his ploy. Eren walked up to the finely minced garlic Levi had left for him. He grabbed just a bit and waited for his perfect moment to strike. He waited until Levi turned back around to face him and without a split second of hesitation, flicked the tiny pieces of food directly at his husband.

Levi flinched silently, quickly realizing what had happened. He flicked a cube of garlic off his shoulder with an annoyed look on his face as Eren stopped himself from laughing out loud. He worried briefly, looking at the annoyed expression on Levi’s face in the aftermath, that maybe he had taken things too far, but he was quickly proven wrong when a competitive fire was lit in Levi’s eyes. Now, he worried what monster he had just awoken.

Levi marched right up to the jar of flour that had been pulled out earlier, grabbed a handful before then marching right up to Eren and blowing the white dust right in his face. Eren blinked in surprise, watching as Levi quickly made a hasty retreat. He had not expected that; he was sure he had just about been chewed out for being too childish. But now Levi watched him carefully from the other side of the counter, just his grey eyes peaking out over the top. A good defensive position.

So, it was war then.

Eren grabbed his tomato paste and quickly ran after the man with murderous intent. And so, began a food fight that Eren really hadn’t meant to start. Levi was fast, out maneuvering Eren most of the time due to his smaller size. But Eren was a fast learner, catching onto the tricks Levi would use to avoid getting hit by Eren’s attacks and adjusting according.

Levi had even more flour in his hair than before and multiple tomato paste smears all over his shirt, arms and face. Levi definitely gave as he got too. There were spice and garlic bits all over Eren as well as a bit of leftover beef broth that Levi had splashed at him. Eren had the largest smile seemingly stuck on his face as they made a mess of themselves and the kitchen, giggling the entire time, and Levi had a Ghost of smile on his own face but Eren could see it clearly in his eyes.

Standing off against each other, one of them on either side of the kitchen, Eren decided to step up his game a little bit. He secretly grabbed an egg off the counter, cracked it slightly so it wouldn’t hurt Levi, and then hid his hands under very large sweater paws before pretending as if he were completely out of breath.

“Alright!” He called out dramatically, holding up his hands in mock surrender, making sure to breathe heavily between every few words. “I give up, you win. I need to breathe…”

Levi looked momentarily proud of himself but when Eren pretended to double over to catch his breath, concern immediately took over. Exactly according to plan.

Levi approached slowly, almost as if he were unsure if it was okay to touch Eren to comfort him.

Just a little closer.

“Are you okay?” He asked, his voice laced with worry. He carefully placed a hand on Eren’s back. _Perfect._

“Yeah, I should be fine, I just need to—” He stood up quickly, clearly catching the older man off guard before cracking the egg the rest of the way over the top of Levi’s slightly disheveled black hair. Eren covered his mouth as he held back laughter; Levi stood with wide eyes as most of the egg slid from his hair onto the floor instead.

A dangerous smile overtook his face then; not exactly the reaction Eren had been expecting.

“Alright, you little shit,” Levi said, a joking lilt to his voice. He quickly started forward directly at Eren. Eren backed away as Levi came at him, still trying to hold back laughter as Levi crowded him against the counter behind him. Levi grabbed an egg from the same carton behind Eren, still keeping him boxed against the counter so Eren couldn’t escape. Eren squeaked quietly when the cold yolk of an egg slowly dripped down his head as well.

“Now we’re even,” Levi said. “What a dirty trick. I was _worried_ about you and _that’s_ what I get?”

Eren broke into full blown laughter then; Levi too cracked a smile.

Then, he suddenly realized the position they were in, how close Levi was to him. For someone shorter than him, Eren was surprised by just how strong the man was. Eren couldn’t move even if he wanted to, Levi had him completely trapped behind his warm body and the counter.

Eren’s laughter quieted down, fading to silence as neither of them made any attempt to move. This was the closest they had physically been since their wedding night; Eren was once again struck by just how handsome his husband really was. And he was so close; it would take hardly any movement at all and the two of them would be kissing.

Eren wanted to remind himself that he should still be angry with Levi for how the last month and a half has gone but he really couldn’t bring himself to push the alpha off him. It wasn’t wrong to want to kiss one’s husband was it? And if the way Levi was looking at him right in this moment, he was coming to the same conclusions… Eren’s eyes might’ve slipped closed and maybe even Levi leaned a bit closer.

But then they both jumped quickly apart as a loud, high-pitched alarm started to sound off. They both wildly looked around before it hit them.

_The food._

“Oh shit!” Eren cried as he quickly ran over to the stove and pulled the pot with their burning food off of it. He turned the gas off afterwards as Levi turned off the smoke alarm.

With the crisis averted, Eren started giggling once more.

“Seems we got a little carried away. I completely forgot about our food,” he said. Levi cracked another smile.

“I’m going to take this as a sign that I just shouldn’t even bother trying to learn how to cook,” he agreed. He pulled his phone from his pocket and quickly began typing something in. “Time for plan B”

“Pizza?” Eren asked hopefully. Levi sighed.

“Pizza it is,” he agreed. “But you’re cleaning up these eggs.”

Levi ordered the food, asking what toppings Eren wanted, while Eren cleaned up the eggs that had fallen onto the floor from their hair, giggling the entire time whenever he remembered the look on Levi’s face. He remembered all the times he’d be cooking at his parents’ house and both Zeke and Mikasa would come bursting in looking to be taste testers. They always ended up making a mess of themselves and the kitchen, much to their mother’s horror; all three siblings being so competitive and unable to back down from a challenge. The memories kept a smile on his face as he did his least favorite chore of all.

Levi started helping him once their order was placed and they quietly went about cleaning the mess they made. Once that was done—and Eren had watched Levi clean the floor on his hands and knees despite Eren having done that already with an actual mop—they both left to them clean themselves up after their battle.

Eren took a quick shower, briefly wondering where it was that Levi actually slept if not in the master bedroom. He hadn’t actually ever thought to go look… another reminder that he and Levi still desperately needed to talk about what exactly this relationship was. Eren had been too angry—still was angry when he actually thought about it enough—to just go on like nothing at all had happened. Things needed to change, or this just wasn’t going to work.

Once Eren was clean again, he clipped his wet hair back and dressed in comfortable clothes before going back down to the kitchen. He found that Levi was already there, his black hair slightly damp still and unstyled for the first time Eren had ever seen. The man was also wearing casual clothes, a sweater, and black jeans, also for the first time Eren had seen instead of his perfectly pressed dress clothes. Eren wondered how many people ever saw this side of the man.

Levi was pouring a glass of what looked like champagne as Eren entered, the pizza they ordered having arrived while Eren was still cleaning up.

“Champagne? With pizza?” Eren asked as he went to sit down at the table. “How classy.”

Levi rolled his eyes so slightly Eren almost missed it. Levi set a full glass in front of him as Eren flipped open the box and helped himself to a few slices. He had woken up almost an hour ago now; he was absolutely starving.

“The natural acidity of tomatoes in the pizza actually pairs well with the acidity of champagne,” Levi explained. Eren didn’t bother hiding his own eyeroll. Levi scoffed but Eren could tell he wasn’t actually annoyed.

The two of them enjoyed their dinner in silence for a time. The first meal they had actually eaten together. The weight of the situation wasn’t lost on either of them. A heavy silence threatened to suffocate Eren the longer time ticked by and neither of them said anything at all. He knew he had to say something, he just didn’t know where to begin. When he exploded at the man a few days ago he had basically said his entire piece. He could try to be more casual about it? Slowly hint at what needs to be said to slowly slide into a hopefully productive conversation. He just felt so nervous about it all…

Thankfully, all Eren’s worries were for nothing. Levi was the first to speak up, not even trying to hide his intentions.

“I think we have quite a bit to talk about and since I’m mainly the one to blame I’ll start I suppose,” he said, an almost business-like façade covering his face. Eren could pick up on the hints of nervousness in his scent, however. “I told you already, but I’ll say it again, I—”

Levi cut himself off with a large sigh, his mask of formality completely crumbling. He propped himself up on the table with an elbow, his hand rubbing his forehead, wincing as he continued:

“I treated you so unfairly and behaved so horribly and I can’t express enough how completely sorry I am, and I will do everything in my power to make it right.”

He paused for a second, probably gauging Eren’s reactions. Eren didn’t say anything however, waiting for the man to continue.

“By now I’m sure you’ve guessed that we were married for business and political reasons…”

Eren nodded. Of course, he knew that. They had wanted his father’s patents, that much was clear.

“Having a noble name,” Levi practically spit the words out, clearly displeased. “Means that I’ve always been subject to the wills of tradition. And the older I got, the more I was pressured and bothered by other elite shareholders at my company to marry. The Ackerman lineage needed an heir after all.”

Levi explained all this as if he had been lectured over the topic countless times; the words not wholly his own but instead something he had memorized after so many iterations.

“I’m thirty-two so you can imagine how restless all those old bastards were when most nobles are married off as soon as they present and have children a few years later,” he continued. “So, when they finally won out over me and I… basically forced you to marry me… I just felt so ashamed.”

Levi reached out and grabbed Eren’s hand gently; he looked at him finally, his eyes full of sincerity.

“You are absolutely stunning, Eren and absolutely nothing could be further from the truth when those stupid media outlets say there’s something wrong with you or that I don’t want you.”

Eren looked away, knowing that his face had to be bright red at such blunt words and the magnitude of those compliments.

“It hurts me to know that you spent the last few months thinking exactly the opposite. I acted entirely selfish and didn’t stop once to consider how you might be feeling.

“I was just so worried I’d screw everything up that I ended up doing exactly that. I wanted whatever happened within our marriage to happen because _both_ of us wanted it. I avoided you because I didn’t want you to feel pressured into developing anything you didn’t want but I didn’t even stop to consider how my actions might be perceived.

“And then I attacked you when you went into heat… and completely panicked afterwards. Nothing like that has ever happened to me before… I was so afraid to be near you in case I did something we both regretted. I _hate_ that side of me, and I can’t believe I let that happen. I should’ve done better. I should’ve known better.

“I’m not…” Levi paused a second, looking away from Eren before continuing. “I’m not good at communicating my thoughts or how I’m feeling. But I want to get better and I hope there’s some way, though I understand if there’s not, that you could forgive me.”

Eren took a moment to let everything Levi had just said sink in. He hadn’t been expecting such a grand apology… He had convinced himself that his husband was exactly what everyone always claimed he was. Cold. Apathetic. Merciless. Aloof. But the man sitting across from him had proven that those rumors weren’t entirely accurate. He’d beaten up guys twice his size to save Eren without a second thought, a protective fire behind his eyes. He’d probably carried him to his room after he’d fallen asleep and had been attempting to make food for them before Eren had came in. They had gotten into a food fight like children half their respective ages, laughing and teasing each other the entire time. Not to even mention how sincere his words had been just now. Eren wanted to believe he was a good person and he wanted to give him the chance to prove he was.

“I guess I can forgive you,” Eren murmured. It was his turn to look away from Levi, staring at his plate instead as Levi chanced a shocked glance in his direction. “And I’m sorry too for not saying anything sooner and freaking out at you… I should’ve handled that better, but I’ve never been in… a serious relationship before so I guess I just didn’t know what I should do.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything,” Levi told him quietly.

“But I do, a relationship is supposed to go both ways, right? Had I said something sooner we could’ve avoided all of this.” Eren gestured vaguely with a wave of his hand. “And if we wanna make this work, we both have to be held accountable.”

“We?” Levi perked up slightly.

“Yes we,” Eren scoffed. “I want to make this work too, but a few things have to change.”

Levi nodded, waiting for Eren to continue.

“You gotta stop coming home at two in the morning,” Levi looked away guiltily. “You have to take care of yourself and working yourself to death without eating or sleeping properly is stupid.”

“I think I can manage to be home by dinner…”

“And no more holing yourself up in your home office over the weekend too. I’m not expecting you to spend every waking moment with me but _some_ time a day would be nice. Obviously if you absolutely _have_ to work late, I’m not gonna hold it against you but you could tell me when that happens?”

“That sounds fair,” Levi agreed. “But you have to promise to tell me from now on if there’s something wrong.”

Eren flipped his hand over, lacing their fingers slowly and carefully together.

“I promise.”

Levi watched Eren as he moved, a small smile slowly forming on his face. He squeezed Eren’s hand back.

“Let’s start over, then.”

“Together,” Eren agreed.

~*~

Eren’s life now as a married man, fortunately for the both of them, was a lot more like what he had been expecting from the beginning. When Levi said he would do everything in his power to make things right, he really hadn’t been kidding.

A new rhythm took over Eren’s usual way of going about his day. It took a while to get used to the new changes and it didn’t happen all at once either, but Eren couldn’t say he was at all upset about his new way of living. It was a hundred steps in the right direction in comparison to what his life was like before. Even if being around such an attractive alpha with an intoxicating scent everyday made him feel a little dreamy and light-headed on occasion.

The way he woke up every morning didn’t really change all that much. He’d still be alone in a large empty bed with the sun gently shining in through the multitudes of windows. Eren had requested, however, that Levi wake him up before he left for work every morning. Just to say goodbye before he left for the day. The first few times had been a little awkward since Levi had clearly never done anything like this before. Eren was slowly woken up by cold fingers brushing strands of hair out of his face, opening his eyes drowsily to the sight of a perfectly put together Levi.

“Morning,” Eren would yawn, stretching out his arms. Levi had said nothing, watching him with an unreadable expression and that unrecognizable emotion in his scent. “Have fun at work.”

Eren would burrow back into his blankets then, watching and waiting for Levi to say something. Levi’s lip twitched like he wanted to smile but decided against it.

“I’ll try,” he said finally. “Have a good day, Eren.”

Eren nodded as Levi left the room and then fell back asleep until his normal breakfast time.

After a few days, however, Eren figured out Levi’s schedule and around what time frame the man went about his daily routine. Eren started setting an alarm on his phone, waking up a few hours earlier than he normally would. He’d go about his own morning routine as the sun started to rise, getting ready and dressed for the day, his motivation to dress and look nicely every day finally paying off.

Then he’d make his way downstairs to the kitchen first. He’d wish Petra a good morning—she’d been surprised to see him awake so early the first day but never asked for a reason—and ask for his usual coffee. He’d leave for the dining room next to wait for his breakfast. That’s where he would find Levi every morning.

The first time he’d walked into the room, Levi had clearly been surprised but he hid it rather well. He lounged at the table comfortably, a tablet in one hand as he read the news for the day and a mug of tea in the other. He quirked an eyebrow in Eren’s direction, an unspoken question in his expression.

“I thought I might as well just get up with you,” Eren explained.

“Suit yourself,” Levi had said. It could’ve been read as dismissive but Eren got the feeling Levi was secretly happy about this new development. Levi was a hard guy to read. Not for his lack of expression, however Eren decided, but rather because he never reacted the way anyone usually expected and a lot of what he meant was left unspoken. Thinking back on it Eren could think of a few times where he had missed Levi’s meaning entirely.

“I have a business lunch in thirty minutes…” _Let me completely reorganize my schedule for you, I just need to figure it out._

“I have to stay here longer.” _You could stay with me if you want._

“How could I forget?” _You’re literally always on my mind._

But the more time he spent around the man, the better he got at picking up on Levi’s hidden meanings.

“Suit yourself” became “I’m happy you’re here.”

They’d converse idly about whatever was happening that Levi had just read about on his tablet as they ate breakfast. Like with everything else it was a little awkward but Eren quickly warmed up to the man. He had a very dry sense of humor, some of the jokes he made going over Eren’s head for a few seconds until he finally got it. He’d start laughing belatedly, sometimes in the middle of his response, and Eren would catch Levi smiling at him; though, he often tried to hide it behind a sip from his cup.

Levi would leave for work after he finished eating, exchanging awkward goodbyes at first before they fell into another comfortable rhythm. Levi always finished eating first, Eren often opting to eat seconds most days. He’d get up and pull his jacket on before walking around the table, kissing Eren’s forehead, and wishing him a good day.

The first time it’d happened Eren had been too embarrassed to say anything back, watching his husband practically smirk at him in his amusement before leaving Eren in the dining room. But then he got used to it and returned the man’s well-wishes. Sometimes Levi would even leave a scent-mark if he knew Eren would be leaving the house later in the day. The protective behavior always left Eren feeling light-headed and a little giddy. It was cute, Eren decided, just how protective Levi could be over him. He wondered if the man even realized he was doing it sometimes.

From there Eren would finish his breakfast and decide how he wanted to spend his day. Most of the time, he had course work to complete but occasionally he’d travel to the city to hang out with his friends or, if everyone were busy, he’d laze around the manor, doing whatever caught his attention for however long he needed. Those days he often found himself horribly bored but when he thought about the alternative, that being getting a job again, he really couldn’t complain that much. His studies kept him busy enough throughout the week, anyway.

What did change about his afternoon schedule, however, was that every day between noon and one o’clock he’d get a phone call. The first time his ringtone had gone off, interrupting his studies, he’d almost ignored the call all together. No one ever called him unless he was expecting it and anyone who did was always some salesman trying to get him to buy something. But Eren had checked the caller ID anyway after a few rings, thinking that maybe Jean or Mikasa were calling to check up on him after his attack. Instead, the phone read ‘Levi Ackerman’, much to his surprise. He’d almost missed the call entirely, snapping out of his shock just in time to pick up the phone on the last ring.

“Hello?” Eren asked hesitantly into the phone.

“Hey,” Levi started, but offered nothing else.

“Is something wrong? Why are you calling?” Eren decided to cut right to the chase. He didn’t have the nerve to sit through an awkwardly silent phone call, waiting for Levi to explain himself.

“Dot has informed me that you often skip lunch,” Levi explained. He fell silent for a moment before continuing. “…That’s not very healthy.”

Eren might’ve been more annoyed but the concern in Levi’s voice shifted his feelings more towards guilt.

“I don’t mean to… I just forget sometimes…”

Levi chuckled, a pleasant sound that rang in Eren’s ear.

“That makes two of us then,” he agreed. “I thought I’d call to hold both of us accountable.”

Eren appreciated the gesture… but he really wasn’t hungry. He was about to say as much when Levi quickly interrupted him:

“Not being hungry isn’t an excuse, eat something.” A silence stretched between them before a very quiet “please?” broke it once more.

“Fine,” Eren sighed, exaggeratedly throwing his legs around the piano bench, and beginning his journey towards the kitchen. “But you better be eating something too.”

And so, like clockwork, Levi would call him in the middle of the day. Usually Eren beat him to the kitchen, instead making his lunch while he listened to whatever Levi wanted to tell him. The phone calls had started off stilted and awkward at first, like everything else at the beginning of their efforts. Neither of them really knew what to say to the other; even under the same roof the two of them lived vastly different lives. But Eren supposed that’s where they should start.

“How was your day so far?” Eren asked for the first time, cringing at how awkward he sounded. At least Levi couldn’t see him. Small victories.

“Why would you want to know that?”

Eren rolled his eyes. How blunt.

“It’s something to talk about, isn’t it?” Levi didn’t say anything for a beat. So Eren elaborated: “I don’t even know what you do, really. Like I have an _idea_ what a CEO is supposed to do but none of the specifics.”

“It’s horridly boring,” Levi said but Eren picked up on his double meaning: _You don’t have to ask this._

“How was your day, Levi?” Eren asked again, hoping to convey how serious he was.

“Tedious,” Levi started, pausing as if to choose his next words carefully. “I’ve been in and out of meetings all morning.”

“Gross.”

“Tell me about it. There isn’t enough caffeine in the world that could get me through all that nonsense unscathed. I thought about firing the lot of them for putting me to sleep.”

Eren laughed.

“Though I suppose I can’t fault them for it. Expense reports can only be so interesting, but would it kill them to put a little color in their presentations? Just _something_ to look at for the love of God.”

It quickly became evident that not a lot of people ever really asked Levi how his day was going. Eren wondered how often the man was allowed to just complain freely and if he had anyone to listen to him. He figured he didn’t have many opportunities. It always took a bit of convincing at first to get Levi to open up but once he did, he hardly held anything back. Eren would listen intently, letting his nurturing instincts take the lead whenever Levi was clearly stressed.

“Sometimes I feel like the only one who ever knows what’s going on around here. I’m surrounded by fucking idiots. I’d rather subject myself to four-eyes’ insane experiments than listen to another old fuck lecture me about societal norms for another goddamn second.”

Eren hummed in understanding as he put together his sandwich for lunch. He learned pretty quickly that Levi had a short temper when it came to certain things, his job being one of them. He also swore like a sailor whenever he was comfortable in the conversation; Eren had been taken aback by it at first but quickly got used to it. Not like he or his friends held back when it came to foul language either.

“You want me to come down there and yell at them for you?” Eren joked; though, if Levi asked, he’d totally do it. Eren was _very_ good at being over-dramatic and explosive if he needed to be. Levi certainly gave him enough material to work with.

“You know, I’d actually pay money to see their reaction to that,” Levi mused with a chuckle. “I don’t think any of them have ever dealt with an omega like you before.” His tone was teasing as he leaned into “an omega like you”. Eren rolled his eyes.

“Are you trying to start something, old man?”

“Wouldn’t dream of it, darling,” Levi shot right back without missing a beat. Their banter had become just another part of the norm. “But four-eyes has been lurking, waiting for you to show up around here like some sort of freak and shitty eyebrows’ new boyfriend keeps making him pester me about double dates so its probably best you stay home today.”

“Good plan.”

Eren quickly pieced together that “four-eyes” was the lead researcher he’d met at the party, Hange and “shitty eyebrows” was Levi’s assistant, Erwin. The man had rather rude and blunt nicknames for everyone; even Eren was sometimes “little shit” or “brat” but it was always said with a teasing lilt. A very strange way to show affection for the people in his life but then again Levi was a rather strange man to begin with. He’d also gotten to know “old fuck 1 through about 20 and counting”, as well as “clueless interns 1-4” and “stupid investors 1-5” but Eren doubted he’d ever need to know what their real names were.

After Levi had finished ranting for the afternoon, he’d in turn ask what Eren was up to. The answer was almost always nothing but Eren appreciated the chance to just drone on about whatever came to mind as he made his lunch. Sometimes it was related to his schoolwork and Levi would listen intently, sometimes he’d just ramble about whatever he had been watching or playing before seeking out food. Under rare circumstances Eren would have a bit of drama to go on about from his friends. It was always silly and rather childish in the grand scheme of things, but Levi always got surprisingly invested in the stories about people he’d never even met before.

“So, like obviously, Jean is fucking pissed because I guess his boss didn’t know he was an omega—”

“Wait, wait, wait, didn’t Jean have a goddamn child?”

“Yes! That’s what I’m saying!” Eren agreed. “I mean, Jean’s a huge fucking asshole but I don’t think that’s any reason to just assume his secondary gender without checking to make sure.”

“So what happened?”

“Jean, of course, beat the shit outta this one horny alpha who wouldn’t leave him alone, but I think he’s planning on filing a lawsuit on top of it.”

“You should give him my lawyer’s number. He owes me a favor.”

Sometimes Eren would have lunch with Levi in his office, about once a week or so. He’d spend his morning figuring out what to make and putting it together so that they could enjoy a meal together. Most of the time it was Levi requesting that Eren come in to eat, but sometimes Eren would surprise him if he were already going into town anyway. He thought it was a little strange and kinda sudden the first time he’d asked but Eren quickly figured out that Levi liked using his visits as an excuse not to see someone else. Maybe it was a shareholder’s lunch, or an upper-level employee who just would not leave him alone; regardless, Eren always teased him for it. He really didn’t mind being Levi’s excuse not to do certain things but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to give him hell for it.

He did get to go yell at one “old fuck” for Levi one day during lunch though. His new favorite part of going to lunch was the potential to tell off some nosy and sometimes rather rude employees.

The first time, some higher-level management man just wouldn’t leave the two of them alone. It felt like every ten minutes or so, the man came banging on the door demanding attention immediately for completely inconsequential reasons.

The third time he came around, Eren answered the door instead, ready to get this man to go away. Levi had insisted on just ignoring everything and letting Erwin handle it, but Eren had been feeling slightly ticked off after Reiner had kicked his ass earlier in Overwatch that morning. He was choosing chaos today.

“God you’re annoying,” Eren mumbled as he opened the door to the older man on the other side. He was bombarded by an aggressively strong alpha scent that almost made him sick. He didn’t even bother hiding his reactions, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

The alpha looked surprised, clearly not expecting Eren to open the door.

“Oh, you must be Mr. Jaeger. I must say I wasn’t—”

“Yeah, I don’t care,” Eren cut him off sharply. The man looked surprised. Eren wondered if he’d ever been shut down so harshly; by an omega at that.

“Mr. Ackerman is at lunch right now and doesn’t have time for whatever it is you do around here so kindly fuck off and try again later.”

Anger quickly took over the man’s face and scent; Eren resisted the urge to cover his nose.

“You have no right to talk to me like that. I should—”

“What are you going to do? Fire me? Yeah, I don’t work here. Touch me and you’re literally going to die, and I won’t bother stopping Levi. So, bye!” Before he closed the door, he had a thought. He looked over the enraged alpha who was too busy spluttering over himself to provide a comeback yet. “Oh, and Erwin? Armin wants you to take him to Lunch.”

Erwin, who had been watching the encounter with an amused smile, immediately stood up from his chair.

“Right away, Mr. Jaeger.”

Eren gave the stunned alpha one last, overly sweet smile before shutting the door once more.

When he turned around, Levi was watching him with that unreadable expression on his face, different than his normal blank look. Eren sat down with an annoyed huff, going back to his food. He felt only slightly embarrassed under that gaze; he only hoped it wasn’t showing on his face.

“That guy smelled like ass,” Eren mumbled, sniffing pointedly to add emphasis. He got a nose-full of Levi’s pheromones now instead, immediately feeling much calmer even if he couldn’t read what that emotion was.

Levi’s lips quirked ever so slightly at his words, a small chuckle following soon after.

“You are something else,” he said, shaking his head.

Eren shrugged, unsure what to say.

“He was this close to tearing your throat out.”

“I wasn’t worried. You wouldn’t have let him.” Eren knew that without any doubt. Especially after watching the extent of his husband’s protectiveness before firsthand. Levi chuckled again, not denying what Eren had said. “So, where were we?”

That alpha never bothered them again from then on, much to everyone’s enjoyment.

After the afternoon came and went, Levi would come home at five o’clock sharp, true to his word from then on. Sometimes it would be later, but he’d always send him a text to let him know and it was hardly ever longer than a few extra hours.

Eren would always wait for him, no matter the time, to eat dinner. On nights that he came home later, Eren would cook their food in order to let Petra go home on time every day. Levi would watch, refusing to help beyond occasionally chopping vegetables depending on when he finally did come home. Then they’d eat, chatting sometimes or quietly enjoying their food in a comfortable silence, both of them engaged with different technological devices as the time passed.

From there, Eren would go to his usual spot for the evening, to read quietly in the library, or study if he had an exam coming up. At first, Levi clearly hadn’t been sure what to do with himself, given free time for the first time in however long it had been. He’d nervously joined Eren in the foyer, a laptop, and a hopelessly boring-looking stack of manilla folders in hand. He sat opposite Eren on the other couch, clearly expecting Eren to object to his presence at every step of the process. Eren however, only offered him a friendly smile in welcome before going right back to his book. Levi immediately relaxed after that and every night after that, the sound of clicking laptop keys filled the pleasant silence along with the crackling fireplace as the days went by.

After the day Eren told that pushy alpha off, Levi started sitting next to Eren in the library instead of on a different couch, joining him silently and starting to work off his laptop as usual. As they days progressed after that, ever so slowly the pair of them ended up closer and closer together.

It started at first because Eren hadn’t felt like reading, nursing an agonizing migraine. So, as he waited for the pain meds to kick in, he watched Levi work through what seemed like endless spreadsheets and infinite documents. None of it made any sense to Eren but it was the perfect mind-numbing and boring task for his pounding head. If Levi cared that he was sitting so much closer than normal, he didn’t say anything, only tensing slightly when Eren’s head fell on his shoulder, never quite settling back into relaxation from that point.

Eren worried for the entire next day that he had overstepped their boundaries but when it came time for their evening routine, it was Levi who had sat as close as the night before, their entire sides pressed together next to each other without a word spoken. Eren, once he got over his surprise, relaxed into the man’s warmth, making himself comfortable. Then, Levi relaxed as well as days became weeks, initiating more and more physical contact, until eventually Eren would find himself curled against the man every night, Levi’s arms wrapped lazily around him in whatever way was comfortable as he read whatever Eren was over his shoulder. It was an entirely pleasant way to spend his evenings, and Eren often went to bed feeling light-headed and giddy, even if they still weren’t sharing a bedroom.

Their weekends were spent similarly; though Levi was home for the day and not locked inside his office. They’d eat meals together and then go on about their business as usual. Sometimes Eren would go seek out Levi’s company, lounging around on the leather couches of Levi’s home office with his switch while Levi worked. And as time went on, Levi would forgo work all together, opting to relax for once. Sometimes watching whatever Eren was playing off the TV as he sat and read off his tablet, sometimes Eren was able to rope him into watching movies all day or, even rarer still, got him to play a few games if Levi was in a particularly good mood.

And so, days turned to weeks, to a full month. Eren was infinitely happier than he had been and so were his friends; even if the two of them still didn’t quite act like how a married couple would four months into their marriage. But Eren supposed they had to start somewhere.

They had only recently gotten comfortable touching each other casually, they were still worlds away from more couple-y things. No matter how many times the thought of kissing his husband went through his head, Eren was still too nervous to ever do anything like that.

Good thing Levi was so much bolder than Eren could ever be.

It had been about five weeks since they completely overhauled their relationship and a very rough last week. Levi had stayed late at his offices for four nights straight. He had explained to Eren that it was a rather busy time of the year for the company. Explanations like “year’s end overlapping with quarter’s end” and “compiling everything for the company’s shareholders” didn’t quite resonate with Eren but he understood the gravity of them well enough. They still ate breakfast together and Levi still called him during lunch, but he didn’t come home until Eren had been in bed for hours. He’d never seen the man so stressed before, and every day it only got worse; Eren was really starting to worry. Every day, Eren would call Levi during their usual dinner time, making sure the man paused his work long enough to eat. Anything he could do to help him not look so drained the next time Eren saw him.

Not only that, however, Eren found himself feeling a little listless. A loneliness he hadn’t felt in a while settled under his skin despite himself. He didn’t hold it against him; how could he? Levi had told him ahead of time and always sounded so apologetic every time he said it would be another late night. But he couldn’t help the feelings anyway. He knew he promised to tell Levi whenever something was bothering him, but he felt so silly. He could go a week without Levi’s presence; he was just being clingy.

It was on the fifth day of the week, however when Eren accidentally let it slip. He had been making dinner at the time, his phone pressed between his shoulder and his cheek. He was listening to Levi ramble on about everything that had gone wrong and kept on going wrong. He was trying to hide it behind a hundred different layers of sarcasm and dark humor but Eren could see through it all just how stressed the man actually was.

Once Levi had got it all out of his system, he asked him how he was doing. There was a beat of silence where Eren was supposed to come up with something to say. He had a whole list of things that he could say in his mind other than the truth, but what came out when he opened his mouth was a very quiet and sad sounding:

“I miss you.”

Another silence stretched between them and Eren silently panicked. He hadn’t meant to say that, but it was too late now. He waited with bated breath for Levi’s response to his admission. The silence seemed to stretch on forever before finally:

“I’ll be home in thirty minutes.”

“What?” Eren exclaimed, he hadn’t been expecting that at all. “But what about—”

“Everything’s almost done anyway,” Levi cut him off quickly. “Besides, I miss you too.”

“O-okay,” Eren knew he was blushing; his only saving grace being that Levi could not see him.

Levi was home exactly thirty minutes later, sneaking up behind Eren as he cooked, wrapping his arms around his middle and quickly burrowing his nose in Eren’s neck. Eren nearly jumped out of his skin, letting out an embarrassing yelp. Levi chuckled, lips brushing against Eren’s neck as he scent-marked him within seconds.

“You scared the shit out of me,” Eren said, heart racing in his chest for a different reason than it had been seconds ago. It seemed Levi was feeling especially touchy-feely tonight; though, Eren supposed that was partly his own fault.

“I’m home,” Levi offered instead of an apology. Eren might’ve snapped back at him if he wasn’t too busy feeling hopelessly embarrassed and terribly light-headed.

He finished making dinner and they ate together as they normally did. Then, Levi let Eren drag him to the living room instead of the library where they usually went on a normal weekday. They curled up on the couch together after Levi changed into something more comfortable for lounging as they watched the first movie that piqued Levi’s interest. Even if Eren had wanted to sit apart from Levi to any degree, the man didn’t give him the choice, immediately pulling Eren practically into his lap and silently refusing to let go, both of them melting into each other as time went on. Eren was happy to notice the stressed edge to Levi’s scent slowly disappear to be replaced by contentment; his husband’s nose buried against his throat for the entirety of the movie, making Eren feel all sorts of dizzy and a little delirious.

When the movie ended, Levi finally lifted his head once more to help Eren pick out what they should watch next.

“I almost forgot to tell you,” Levi started out of nowhere. Eren glanced over at him to let him know he was listening. “I received the strangest message the other day.”

“Oh?”

“From the Queen actually,” Levi continued. Eren stopped scrolling, giving Levi his full attention now. “Looking for you, to my surprise.”

“Oh yeah!” Eren had almost forgotten Historia had wanted to get together again after they had first met. That party felt ages away now… “We met at that Christmas party.” He explained.

Levi laughed quietly.

“Of course, you managed to make friends with the literal Queen.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Eren whined with a pout.

“Nothing. I was just surprised to say the least. I gave her your phone number so don’t be surprised if you hear from her soon. I meant to tell you earlier but I… kept forgetting with everything going on.”

He went silent then and Eren figured that was the end of their conversation. He went back to searching for something to watch and was just about to suggest a title when Levi spoke up again.

“You still wear it?” He asked, voice significantly quieter than before. Eren was confused at first but then Levi started playing with the rings on his left hand, specifically the engagement ring placed above the wedding band he also wore.

“Oh, uhh… yeah,” Eren said. He wasn’t sure where this conversation was going. “I guess its because my mom wears her engagement ring still too, I just picked up on the habit… and it really is a gorgeous ring.”

The green stones sparkled in the light the TV gave off as Levi fiddled with it.

“I’m glad you like it,” Levi told him. Eren couldn’t read what his expression was. “I was given a few pictures of you when I was tasked with finding a partner. It was your eyes… I picked the ring because the stones were as close as I could possibly get to their color.”

Eren knew he was blushing now. He remembered bitterly thinking all those months ago that there was no way Levi had possibly picked this ring out for him. But like with a lot of things about Levi, Eren had been very wrong. He was sure he’d never take the ring off now, knowing what he did.

“I’d never felt that way when I looked at someone before… even though it was only just a picture. I—” Levi stopped himself, looking rather conflicted. Eren wasn’t sure what mood Levi had gotten himself into, but he was willing to indulge him. They didn’t talk about what their relationship actually was very often.

“I suppose there’s no reason to hide this from you of all people and it could be absolutely nothing anyway.” He seemed to be ranting more to himself than actually talking to him, but now Eren was especially curious.

“What is it?” He asked, hoping he sounded supportive.

Levi glanced at him, took a deep breath, and then began to explain himself.

“I’ve never been… I suppose what you would call a ‘typical’ alpha,” Levi started. “I’m sure you’ve heard that I didn’t present till I turned twenty-one?”

Eren nodded. It was rather strange. Alphas usually presented the earliest at fifteen or sixteen out of the three secondary genders. Betas came next at sixteen or seventeen, and then omegas at eighteen to twenty-one. But late or early bloomers weren’t exactly uncommon, really.

“Well, after I was adopted by my uncle and _didn’t_ present by sixteen, or even seventeen… that just wasn’t going to fly,” Levi continued. “I _had_ to be an alpha since I was the only possible heir to the Ackerman lineage. An omega as head of the household, can you possibly imagine?”

He laughed bitterly. Eren didn’t like the way this was going.

“So, I was… put through a whole _slew_ of experimental treatments to force what my secondary gender would present as,” he explained, confirming all of Eren’s suspicions. “It didn’t seem to work at first but then on my twenty-first birthday, it finally happened.”

He paused for a second.

“Who knows, maybe I was always supposed to be one and it was just my less than stellar early childhood that stunted everything and threw my hormones all over the place but… I’ve never felt “normal” if that makes sense.

“I’ve only been through one real rut when I presented and then never really felt the urge again, scents didn’t drive me crazy like other alphas complain, and I’ve never felt like I wanted to mate with anyone…

“But when I saw your picture, I just felt something I hadn’t before. I know I said before that the only reason we married was for your father’s research but that was a half-lie. It was wholly selfish of me, but I couldn’t help it.”

If Eren’s face had been red before, it was absolutely on fire now. He didn’t even know what to say to all of this. He really hoped Levi wasn’t expecting a response.

“I meant it when I said you are absolutely stunning, and I thought so from the second I saw your picture. God, I sound so pathetic,” Levi laughed at himself, lips brushing against Eren’s neck. “When you… went into heat so suddenly I had never smelled something so intoxicating before in my life. It was the first time I had ever lost control of myself. You smell fantastic normally but that was something else entirely and I’d never felt… so possessive over someone before either. Just the thought of another alpha touching you is enough to set me off. Its all very new to me… Another reason I so stupidly avoided you at all costs at first. It felt wrong of me to feel these things before we even talked properly to each other.”

He stopped then, seemingly done with everything he wanted to tell Eren. Still unsure what exactly he could say in response to everything he just heard, he said the first thing that came to his fried brain:

“How come you’ve never let me return your scent-marks?”

Levi froze and Eren again panicked and cursed his social awkwardness when it came to these situations. Levi pulled away from his neck and looked at Eren with that same expression Eren could never get a read on.

“Do you want to?”

Eren nodded slowly, deciding he might as well commit now that he had dug himself into this hole. It wasn’t even a lie anyway.

Levi didn’t say anything, only shifted slightly away from Eren and tilted his head to bare his neck. Eren’s mouth went dry at the sight, frozen in place as he took in everything that was happening so so fast. Levi watched him with sharp grey eyes the entire time as Eren moved in order to reach Levi’s neck. He nearly whimpered when he got a full lung-full of husband’s scent, his nose pressed directly to the man’s scent pores. Eren felt a shiver go through Levi’s body as he just continued to breathe in his scent, head feeling clouded and dreamy. When he finally pressed his lips to the man’s neck, leaving his own scent mark on the alpha, suddenly Eren could smell himself mixing with Levi’s scent all around them. It was an even more enticing mixture than just Levi’s scent alone and he understood why Levi liked to do it to him so often.

When he pulled away—albeit reluctantly—he was met with an uncensored look of desire on his husband’s face. Eren didn’t look away, fully entrapped by everything that had just happened. When he had blurted out that he missed Levi earlier, he really hadn’t expected this to be how his night ended up.

“Eren?” Levi whispered, his voice sounding a little strained. He moved closer, their foreheads bumping gently.

“Yeah?” He asked, his eyes slipping closed. He could feel the other’s breath across his face.

“Can I kiss you?”

Butterflies erupted in Eren’s stomach at that question.

“Yeah.”

And Levi did, gently and carefully, not unlike the first kiss they ever shared five months ago. His lips were soft, if a little chapped but Eren couldn’t bring himself to care around his complete excitement.

It didn’t last very long, Levi clearly unsure how far he could push and hesitant to try his luck. They pulled apart only slightly, Eren watching his blushing husband through half-lidded eyes. They waited a beat, and when nothing went horribly wrong, they were both surging towards each other once more.

This kiss was much more passionate. Much more needy. Much more emotion filled. It was deeper than before as well, their lips moving in sync languidly and slow like they had all the time in the world. Eren’s hands clutched tightly at the front of Levi’s sweater and one of Levi’s hands settled on Eren’s jawline and the other his waist. Eren felt like he could stay right in this spot in this position forever. Levi was so warm, their scents mixed wonderfully around them, their bodies fit together so perfectly.

It felt like ages before they finally pulled apart again and Eren was met with the largest smile he’d seen from the man, even though it barely pulled at his lips.

They didn’t say anything more, only settling back into their original positions and beginning their search once more for something to watch.

Levi kissed him again before they left each other for the night to sleep. And if Eren went to bed with a million fluttering butterflies in his stomach… well, that was neither here nor there…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! All comments appreciated! You all really make my day <3


End file.
